Dear Parents,
Following the excellent news this morning that GEMS International School has been rated in the top five new schools in Dubai, I am writing to tell you about a new initiative that shall take place next week.
It is a ‘Meet the Executive Leadership Team’ team event and it will take place on Thursday, 11th June, between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. The purpose of the session, initially designed as a one-off event, will be for the team to give you some updates on issues that are ongoing and to say hello. As the event will be something of an experiment, we want to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible, and so we are aiming to have a clear agenda. For the moment, we shall definitely be looking at the Sports Programme for the next year, as well as the school uniform; we shall also look briefly at the issue of class sizes. There will almost certainly be other items on the agenda but, rather than create an agenda which is too full, or which is totally dictated by the Executive Leadership Team, we are inviting parents to put forward their own ideas for discussion.
If you have something that you would like the team to talk about, then please email your suggestion to Camille Hogg, the school’s Parent Relations Executive, at [email protected] by, at the latest, 5.00pm on Tuesday, 9th June.
The team, consisting of myself, Chris McDermott (Principal/CEO), Cathy Hayes, (Vice Principal), Carolyn Mason –Parker (Assistant Principal) and Gary Craggs (Assistant Principal) will seek to bring you up to date, as far as possible, with the items listed above, plus anything else that is placed on the agenda.
It is very important to note that, as well as being a trial, it is important for me, as Principal, to manage the expectations of the event. The number of agenda items will, inevitably, be limited and it will not be possible to include everything that parents would like to talk about. If parents have individual concerns, then these are generally best handled outside a forum such as the one described, in most cases by the Homeroom teacher. It might be, in some cases, that the Executive Leadership Team does not have a definitive answer to a question, in which case we shall do some research and get back to you. This is particularly likely to be the case when an issue is beyond our jurisdiction, for example a matter that comes under GEMS auspices, or even beyond that of the company itself.
If you think that you may come along, then please let Camille Hogg, our PRE, know at the above email address, before 5.00pm this coming Tuesday, so that we can plan for numbers.
I emphasise again, that the purpose of the forum is to address issues which will be of general interest.
I look forward to meeting many of you next Thursday, if not before.
In the meantime, I wish you and your families every success and happiness.
Best wishes,
Chris McDermott
Principal / CEO
Following the excellent news this morning that GEMS International School has been rated in the top five new schools in Dubai, I am writing to tell you about a new initiative that shall take place next week.
It is a ‘Meet the Executive Leadership Team’ team event and it will take place on Thursday, 11th June, between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. The purpose of the session, initially designed as a one-off event, will be for the team to give you some updates on issues that are ongoing and to say hello. As the event will be something of an experiment, we want to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible, and so we are aiming to have a clear agenda. For the moment, we shall definitely be looking at the Sports Programme for the next year, as well as the school uniform; we shall also look briefly at the issue of class sizes. There will almost certainly be other items on the agenda but, rather than create an agenda which is too full, or which is totally dictated by the Executive Leadership Team, we are inviting parents to put forward their own ideas for discussion.
If you have something that you would like the team to talk about, then please email your suggestion to Camille Hogg, the school’s Parent Relations Executive, at [email protected] by, at the latest, 5.00pm on Tuesday, 9th June.
The team, consisting of myself, Chris McDermott (Principal/CEO), Cathy Hayes, (Vice Principal), Carolyn Mason –Parker (Assistant Principal) and Gary Craggs (Assistant Principal) will seek to bring you up to date, as far as possible, with the items listed above, plus anything else that is placed on the agenda.
It is very important to note that, as well as being a trial, it is important for me, as Principal, to manage the expectations of the event. The number of agenda items will, inevitably, be limited and it will not be possible to include everything that parents would like to talk about. If parents have individual concerns, then these are generally best handled outside a forum such as the one described, in most cases by the Homeroom teacher. It might be, in some cases, that the Executive Leadership Team does not have a definitive answer to a question, in which case we shall do some research and get back to you. This is particularly likely to be the case when an issue is beyond our jurisdiction, for example a matter that comes under GEMS auspices, or even beyond that of the company itself.
If you think that you may come along, then please let Camille Hogg, our PRE, know at the above email address, before 5.00pm this coming Tuesday, so that we can plan for numbers.
I emphasise again, that the purpose of the forum is to address issues which will be of general interest.
I look forward to meeting many of you next Thursday, if not before.
In the meantime, I wish you and your families every success and happiness.
Best wishes,
Chris McDermott
Principal / CEO