A New Year

Welcome to 2021!

I think we were all pretty happy to see the calendar turn to January 1st. Last year had about 300 days no one will ever forget. What I reflect on about 2020 is that though there were challenging times, we learned a lot. We learned about ourselves, our children, the global community, and much more. In education there is much for us to take away from this experience.

Why did some students thrive as remote learners while others found it incredibly challenging and how do we embed what we learned from those experiences into our practice going forward? 

How did teaching pivot over the past 10 months and what new practices will we adopt and what old approaches will we modernize because of it? 

As a Future Fluent school, how do we continue to adapt and redefine the learning experience to ensure we identify and challenge the personal excellence of each student, and provide them with the tools and mindsets to thrive in a future that will continue to be filled with unknowns.

Our mindset and way of being as a school is designed to address these questions, and that makes this an exciting time to be part of the Dubai American Academy.  We look forward to the near future where the vaccine should begin to provide us with the chance to return to all aspects of learning that makes our school outstanding.

• The flexible learning environments that nurture and inspire each student through movement as well as voice and choice on where they learn best.
• Collaboration opportunities for students to connect with peers beyond their classroom walls and grade levels; a return to an interconnected community.
• The use of all our learning resources in the manner that supports the foundational skills necessary for our Future Fluent learning to truly come alive.

We take great pride in the work our teachers do every single day and we are confident that as the world returns to one where physical distancing and COVID risks diminish, the lessons of 2020 will not be lost and we will continue creating a path to greatness for your children.

“(Don’t) see things in terms of good and bad but rather in terms of ahead and behind. To see our work, our community and the world as part of a continuum.”  Simon Sinek, An Optimist’s View Going into 2021 

Have a great year!