High School Updates

Dear High School Families,

It has been a busy week for high school students, whether engaging in work experience or workshops in Dubai, traveling, focusing on IB higher level and AP courses, or taking IB mock exams. These diverse experiences prepare our learners for future success. We look forward to having all of our students return to campus next week.

A special thank you to our DAAPA representatives who provided sweet treats to our students on campus. We value parents' contributions to our learning community. Thank you for all that you do.

Wishing you and your families a lovely week ahead.

Kind regards,

Ashley Szar

High School Assistant Principal

We hope that parents and students have found the recent course selection sessions informative and helpful in supporting course selection for the 2023/24 academic year. Session presentations, session recordings, and useful resources are linked into the Course Selection Timeline for reference. Kindly note the upcoming course selection dates:

• March 6th: Course Selection Opens in PowerSchool

• Note: Instructions to enter course requests in PowerSchool will be shared on March 6th.

• March 17th: Course Selection Fair (Students Only)

• April 14th: Course Selection Closes in PowerSchool

We encourage families to schedule appointments with their counselor to discuss course selection. As a reminder, Grade 11 IB Diploma students do not need to complete the course selection process.

We are thrilled to host the 11th Annual Career Conference for Grade 10 students on Friday March 10th. During this Career Conference, students will learn from 30 Professionals (members of our parent/staff community) who will speak to about their careers, experiences, and offer advice. They will also take questions from students at the end of each session.

On Monday, March 6th during CREW, students will have the opportunity to sign up for presentations given by the experts. The form will close on Tuesday, March 7th at 9:00 am to allow us to finalize event details.

It is also important to note that this is a special day (off timetable) and professional dress is highly recommended, as we want students to feel confident speaking with professionals.

To learn more please visit the Career Conference page on the HS Hub.

Spring parent-teacher conferences will take place from Monday, March 13th - Wednesday, March 15th. Conferences will take place over Zoom. Students are expected to attend these conferences, as we encourage high school students to take ownership of their learning, and recognize goal setting and reflection as keys to academic success. Progress reports will be emailed to families on Friday, March 10th.

Parent-teacher conferences will be scheduled through schoolbookings.net. Booking information and Zoom links will be shared next week.

Please note that select IB HL Year 1 classes will be running during parent-teacher conferences. Students will be notified by their teachers and a schedule is forthcoming. No other classes are running during parent-teacher conferences.

Final IAs will take place on March 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th in the HS MFL area.

This is an official IB examination for which each student has been allocated a specific day and time.

Important Notes

• Students must arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of their examination

• Students should come prepared by visiting the restroom before the start of their examination

• Student will leave their bags and electronic equipment before entering the exam preparation room

• Should your child have any questions regarding their final IA, kindly direct them to their subject teacher.

To maximize instructional time, select IB HL Year 1 courses will run during parent-teacher conferences, March 13th - March 15th. A schedule of IB classes running during PTCs will be shared with students next week.

AP Mock Exams will take place during parent-teacher conferences (March 13th - March 15th). The schedule can be seen here. All exams will take place in the high school library. AP students are expected to be present on the mock exam day and time for each AP class they are registered in.

The High School Counseling Department invites Grade 11 parents to join next week's High School Parent Coffee Morning with a focus on letters of recommendation. Please see the details below.

Topic: Letters of Recommendation

Audience: Grade 11 Parents

Date: March 7, 2023

Time: 8:30 am - 9:30 am

Location: Auditorium or Zoom (314 877 5954)

Grade 9, Grade 10, and Grade 11 students are invited to next week’s Lunch and Learn session.

Topic: How to Build Your Student Profile! Maximizing your breaks: internships, activities, opportunities, & more!

Audience: Grade 9 - Grade 11 Students

Date: Thursday, March 9th

Location: High School Library

Refer to the College Counseling Lunch and Learn Schedule Spring 2023 for details of upcoming sessions.

This year we will be hosting the 2023 TEDxYouth@DAA event in person and back on stage!
For those who haven’t heard about TEDxYouth@DAA, it is an independently organized event approved by TEDx where high school students and teachers explore new ideas and perspectives in live talks.

This year, our theme is “Inertia,” meaning a tendency to stay constant until an event drastically changes trajectory. Our speakers will be talking about their dreams, passions, or experiences in relation to “Inertia”. Over the past few months, everyone has been working incredibly hard on their speeches to provide the best show possible for our community.

Please join us on Sunday, March 19th in the DAA Auditorium to immerse yourselves in our TEDxYouth@DAA event 2023.

Book your tickets here, it’s free!

An 80 minute version of Oliver! The Musical, starring our high school students will take place in the auditorium:

Wednesday, March 8 at 3:30 pm

Wednesday, March 8 at 6:00 pm

Thursday, March 9 at 11:00 am (MS viewing)

Thursday, March 8 at 1:30 pm (Grades 9 and 10 special viewing)

A special thanks to:

Amelie Banos Lindner (G12) and Janelle George in (G12) have assisted Mr. Downey with choreography

Zahra Unver Gazi (G11) and Maleah Simmons (G12) have assisted with production

Josiah Batlett (G12) has assisted with music

Two casts, one ensemble, one sleek and passionate show all put together on weekends since January.

* Entry is free but we will have donation buckets for Turkey-Syria earthquake relief.

It is a pleasure to announce that DAA students and families have been invited to attend the InClassica 2023 concert series free of charge again this year. Orchestras, small ensembles and soloists from across the world will perform at the Dubai Opera and Coca Cola Arena almost daily between now and the March 10th.

To avail your FREE tickets, please complete this form no later than 24 hours before the event requested. A program of events can be found here.

This is an opportunity not to be missed!

We have a growing list of students who have completed the full Duke of Edinburgh International Award. Congratulations to the following students on achieving their Bronze Award in full. These are the first of many DAA students to accomplish this award.

• Rianna Gupta
• Anna Badulescu
• Alissa Becker
• Jed Mahfouz
• Leila Eustace
• Idil Polat
• Zeina Khedr
• Anya Singh
• Kenna Oden
• Shue Park
• Camille Parisot

On March 10th - March 11th we will take our final group of students on their Qualifying Adventurous Journey Bronze Award level. We wish them well on their journey ahead and are excited to see the list of participants achieving the full award growing over the next few months as more high school students begin to complete.

We will be reopening the award for students soon. If you are interested in this award please let us know via the google form of interest.

Dear Senior Parents,

Mark your diaries for the important dates below. Further details will be shared with parents and students via email.

March 1st: Baby photos and senior quotes due to CREW teachers

March 10th: Senior Breakfast

March 20th - March 22nd: Senior Cap and Gown Photos

April 19th: Last Day for Seniors

• Senior Assembly

• Senior Walk

April 24th - April 26th: HS Exams

• Courses other than IB and AP courses

• Schedule to be shared

April 27th - May 19th: IB Exams

May 1st - May 11th: AP Exams

May 25th: Graduation Rehearsal and Awards Ceremony

May 26th: Prom

May 28th: Graduation