HIGHLIGHTS - Diyafah Eye Online.pdfdesert safari; a unique experience guaranteed to be enjoyed by all. Meanwhile, students of Year 13 spent a Meanwhile, students of Year 13 spent a

AL DIYAFAH HIGH SCHOOL EYE-Online.. WWW.DIYAFAH.COM| January 2016

HIGHLIGHTS

Poetic Heart 2016

Chevron Readers’ Cup

Talent Show

Math Week

“The secret of getting ahead, is getting started”-by Mark Twain

We begin this incredible year enthusiastically as piles of achievements have come forth and are pleading for their part in our magazine. Diyafites have yet again developed a new journey, where they were provided with sufficient counselling- in order to help prepare them for their future. To further help our students unfurl the full prospective of their futures, an annual career fair iwas held, featur-

ing distinctive educational institute representatives from throughout the city to serve as a guide into the insight

of the various college options here in Dubai and outside. These revelations and aspirations are what we aimed

to seize and render to you in this edition of our Eye Online newsletter. As cited by Eleanor Roosevelt, “the fu-

ture belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Numerous events are lined up in this amazing volume! From literature to sports to academic achievements and

entertainment! Furthermore, annual competitions such as the well participated Chevron Readers’ Cup- have

been reported and updated. On the other hand, there were a few events that have been missed out from the last

newsletter. For instance, the interschool tournaments but fret not- they have been well described and reported

in the upcoming pages. Also, the much anticipated Math week has impacted all students across as they cracked

their heads back into books and attempted to solve immensely difficult questions in an exciting manner! An

umpteen number of activities brought forward the deeply hidden thought of math actually being fun!

“Be led by your talent, not by your self-loathing; those other things you just have to manage.”

― Russell Brand

As the end of 2014 arrived, so did the beginning of our very own talent show! Our Diyafites were bursting

with talents; displaying them with great enthusiasm and sending the audience riveting into cheers louder than

ever. It has been said that everyone has a unique talent hidden well beneath them. Something they do better

than anyone else in the world. Be it singing, dancing, comedy or even juggling; it is undoubtedly existent in

you. However, discovering this is only half the journey. From performing alone behind your welded bedroom

doors to a small gathering of family, the journey to letting your talent blossom is carried out one baby step at a

time. Every performer avidly remembers the first time they lost themselves in their art in front of complete

strangers; the weird, tingly feeling that captivated them after they were done and the unstoppable adrenaline as

the crowd roared in applause.

Fear not rejection or embarrassment. All of these are stepping stones to success, many of which you will learn

from and later understand the worth of. People may laugh and claim that you’ve made a fool of yourself. But

the only real fools are those who do not have the willpower to test their limits and do what their soul is telling

them to do. It is not a sin to be a coward, but mocking those who are courageous enough to follow themselves

is nothing but an indication of foolishness.

To conclude, we’d like to encourage everyone reading this newsletter to celebrate one’s talents and be fearless

in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.

Fathima Manal, Abiraahmi Shankar, 11G1

A frenzy of numbers and a mania of thoughts, the students of ADHS took part in the Maths Week, which

was held from the 24th to the 28th of January, 2016, under the tagline, “SPACE for Maths, ACE for Maths.”

The week aimed to inspire students through open, beautiful and creative math; spark individual curiosity and

promote the impulsiveness and the dare to innovate.

Through the activities that were held throughout the week, students were shown how math has a fundamen-

tal, essential and vital role to play in our day to day lives. Students explored aspects of math right from its

uses in nature, in supermarkets and even in the human body. Through Math mazes, puzzles and deep think-

ing, students found the subject to be quite enjoyable The higher order thinking questions that were posed

every day encouraged the students to challenge their minds to the maximum.

On the second day of the week, there was an assembly conducted by the students of Year 8G1 that focused

on the UAE Mars Mission. The assembly gave the students more insight into the plan. There was also an in-

teractive game session that turned out to be a huge success.

The week drew to a close with the Math Cbject, its potential, and the fact that all it requires is logic and ef-

fort. Like Albert Einstein once said, “Pure mathematics is, in hallenge and it was great to see how students

finally appreciated the suits way, the poetry of logical ideas.” Math is most commonly labelled as being bor-

ing and onerous, but that is the exact perception that the Maths Week at Al Diyafah accomplished to demol-

ish.

- Gianna Mathew, 8G

The parents of the Foundation Stage were in for a lovely treat on the 28th of January, when the young

performers took the audience on an impressive trip to Musical

Land at ADHS. With the help of her magic mirror, Alice and her

friends travelled across the world, exploring many different coun-

tries. Our young stars enthusiastically went through their dance

routines and took us all on a journey, as they tangoed their way to

Spain, danced the bangra in India, tapped to a country dance in

the US and finally belly danced their way to Arabia. Their energy

and the music left the audience enthralled, making it a truly

memorable night.

Nicole Correia,11G1

“Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.”- Randy Pausch

After the tiring and strenuous two weeks of exams, the students of Key Stage 3 were treated to a day of ex-

hilarating fun and exciting adventure to help them unwind. The girls visited Iceland Water Park and the boys

Iceland Aqua Park, on the 21st of January. The students spent a calming yet entertaining day under the sun

and in water, where we’re sure they made plenty memories with their friends.

On the same day, the students of Year 12 went on an adventurous tript to the deserts of UAE for a thrilling

desert safari; a unique experience guaranteed to be enjoyed by all. Meanwhile, students of Year 13 spent a

relaxing day on the beach, where they were allowed to loosen up and refresh.

Revived and rejuvenated from their well-deserved trips, our Diyafites are now prepared to face the new term

head-on and face any challenges that come their way with utmost determination and resolve.

Saina D, 11 G1

“It’s a beautiful aspect when a career and a passion come together.”

Career Guidance Interface; an interactive series of sessions revolved

around the purpose of enriching the minds of the Year 11 students to-

wards the path of their aspirations. Each Wednesday, during the PEP pe-

riods, the students of Year 11 attended a multitude of sessions conducted

by experienced, qualified and competent sources from various renowned

institutes in order to assist the students in understanding, analyzing and

interpreting the functionality and working of the real world and more

importantly, of their potential future careers. From motivational seminars

revolved around pursuing your own ambitions and exemplifying the

will to achieve it, to categorizing careers based on subject and interest

options, the discussions supplied each and every answer to the students’

queries and paved a more crystalline road to undertake for the making

of their luminous future.

Zoha, 11G.

World Energy Summit – Visit to the Japan Pavilion

The trip to Abu Dhabi was tiring but the end goal was worth it. We were greeted kindly by the Japanese dele-

gation and they gifted us with sweets and a shrunken origa-

mi. The organisers presented their topic about energy in the

form of a magic show. Their first trick was the attraction

and repulsion of charges with two balloons. They then

showed us how a circuit works using 4 volunteers to com-

plete the circuit. They then conducted a quiz about LEDs

which cheered up the audience. They then ended it by pre-

senting us with a solar powered car which made everyone

jump with joy. We appreciated the gift and thanked our

marvellous hosts and we left with the amazing new things

we learned from this trip.

Mariam Abid ,9G1

Chevrons Readers’ Cup helped us to relate to the books we were reading. It allowed us the time we need to

enjoy and understand the meaning that the author is trying to

portray and not just to participate because we’re selected.

My experience as a participant in the Chevrons Readers’ Cup

is that it is perfect for someone who loves and enjoys to read

books and has a burning passion to read, remember the

sequence and plot of the book. Just as Garrison Keillor said,

“ A book is a gift you can open again and again.”

Ciana Monteiro, 6G1

In order to qualify for the preliminary round, we went through a

selection process in the school. Each one of us had to read four books,

which were selected by the Emirates Literature Festival organisers and

were written by 4 renowned authors.

The much awaited event was held on Sunday 17th January, 2016 at

Pristine Private School. Sixteen students from Years 5 and 6 participat-

ed in the event along with students from over 200 schools.

We were seated in a big hall and the atmosphere was very pleasant, but we were tensed. The question papers

with instructions were distributed and we answered as a team. We had 15 minutes for each paper and 5

minutes at the end to check our papers. Representing the Primary girls were Joanna, Darlene, Angelica and

Ciana whereas representing the boys were Kiaan, Adam, Advay and Rahul.Our team was very supportive

towards each other and we discussed the tricky questions to complete the papers.

We had hoped to enter into the final round of the Chevron Readers Cup and win the trophy for our school.

However ,we were not able to achieve this. But this has strengthened our resolve to do even better next time

round.

Joanna,5G

The Chevron Readers’ Cup is a competition held under the auspices of Emirates Airline Literature Festival, with the em-

phasis solely on reading and analysing a collection of four predecided books

penned by authors that are attending the festival. Two teams from Years 9 and 10

battled almost 260 schools in the first round, all eager to get through to the finals

to be held in March at the festival.

This purpose of the quiz-based competition is not only to pinpoint avid readers but

also to kindle in students an appetite for reading and ardently interpret even the

seemingly trivial details in rich, intricate stories contained within the volumes pro-

vided. Students must understand the books in and out to stand a chance of winning

the trophy.

The girls’ team consisted of Vidhya, Bushra, Leanne, and Rachael while Daniel,

Brandon, Keegan, and Arafat represented the boys’ team. The first round was held

at Pristine Private School and as the teams from our school arrived, they were met with an intimidating number of people

that they had to contend with. It was surely no simple task; nevertheless, the teams gave it their all in order to be on par

with their fierce competition. The girls’ team have qualified for the daunting second round and seeing as one of our

school’s teams clinched the first place last year, we look forward to seeing our school emerge triumphant once again.

Sumudu Jayawardene, 11G1

The exciting Hour of Code was back in 2015 with even more exciting online coding brought to you by code.org.

Hour of code, written by 7 million students around the world, proved that Any Body Codes. Every student should have

the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting ear-

ly, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.

Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to Computer Science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can

learn the basics. Students at ADHS were motivated to code their way when the Computer Science Education week

was held from December 7th – 13th.

Students from Year 1 to 6 were given their links and where they enthusiastically participated earning their respective

certificates of coding.

The goal of the Hour of Code is not to teach anybody to become an expert computer scientist in one hour. One hour is

only enough to learn that computer science is fun and creative, that it is accessible at all ages, for all students, regard-

less of background.

Deepak Devjani,10B1

When a collection of brilliant minds, hearts and talents come together…..expect a MASTERPIECE.

Diyafites were bursting with talents; displaying them with great enthusiasm and sending the audience riveting into cheers louder than ever on the day -OUR OWN TALENT DAY. There were some incredible singers this year, in groups and solos. Their voices ringing melodiously, the groups and duets singing in harmony. We could almost see the enthusiastic response in the audience wanting to stand on their feet and dance to their implausible voices. On the other hand, our very talented dancers wowed the audience with their entertaining dance moves . Sparks sizzled from these incredible performers! It was magical! Moreover, there were some unique events such as street magicians giving the audience questionable tasks. It was a captivating event, the students were outstanding and they gave it their all. All thanks to the teachers for opening the doors of opportunities and hope to see even more brilliant acts next year.

Compering for the first time was pretty edgy but I knew I could overcome this fear as I had been

trusted by my teachers to compere for the Talent Show 2015.

Students from the Primary were geared up to perform. We had students who played on their

musical instruments, dancers who swept the show, singers who sang tunefully and our whimsical

magicians who cast their spell of curiosity on the audience.

This was a sensational show and a proud moment to have been given an opportunity to compere

for this exhilarating mind blowing Talent show. Darius Pritvi, 6B1

World Scholars Cup, held on December 11, was a glorious event that our esteemed school took part in, at

GEMS International School, Al Khail.

Every year, students who wish to participate are provided with a rousing topic. The topic was 'The World

Unbound.' The topics and subjects are commonly broadcasted on the Scholars Cup website and students tend

to delve deeper in to their desired topic, in order to gain points for their team. Depending on how well each

individual does, points are recorded online, medals and trophies are distributed.

Each individual who participates in the WSC, gets to know more about team-work, as a majority of the

events are based on team-work, like the team debate where we discuss about the topic and argue about it

with our opposing opponents. The Scholars Bowl is also based on team-work as we have to discuss the

question and swiftly choose the answer which seems right to us.

The Scholars Cup helps the students develop their timing skills. The Team Collaborative Writing is an event

where we have to choose one of the many topics that are provided to us and write about it, persuading the

reader to support us on the topic. The Team Debate helps us on this skill too, as we have a limited amount of

time to research on the topic and speak it out. Most of these events are time based and are often very tricky to

jump over.

World Scholars Cup is 11 hours long and you might wonder how students can keep themselves energetic

throughout the day. Well, the Scholars Cup team provides a wide range of simply scrumptious food and a

generous amount of mouth-watering desserts. This is also the time to keep your friends, coach or parents

updated about everything that just took place.

At the end, just before the 'Awards Ceremony', each individual is given a really special soft plushy, an

Alpaca, the logo of WSC in a variety of vibrant colours which everyone can cherish. Finally, we have a

Scholars Ball, where a random song is picked and we all get to show off our dancing prowness.

Attending The World Scholars Cup, will improve the student's performance in every area.

Reading this, I hope it will help you to decide to participate in the World Scholars Cup sometime soon. Be-

lieve me, it is an outstanding opportunity to show off what you really are capable of.

Shreshta Varma ,6G

From the 20th to the 23rd of December, Sixth Form students of Al Diyafah volunteered to teach the support staff English and ICT. The classes were held in the school premises and were completely stu-

dent led. The sixth form students taught them basic communication skills and letter writing format over a period four days. It was a wonderful experience for Diyafah’s young leaders to interact with their students and to be able to educate them about the modern amenities of communication and technolo-

gy. The lesson plans were made by Maryam Javed and Afreen Zulfikar of Year 13.

Najmus,13G

ADHS organized its third Alumni Meet on Thursday, 7th January, 2016. The date of this event was de-

clared early, in December, and was published on social media (www.facebook.com/groups/diyafahalumni)

Many of the alumni played active role in contacting their batch-mates and others. The occasion was

graced by about 50 Alumni members ranging across various batches (2008 – 2015) who were in Dubai on

the day of the meet.

Mrs. Usha Menon, Head of Community Engagement introduced the Senior Leadership members of the

school. Principal Mrs. Patricia Johnston, in her welcome note to the Alumni, highlighted the importance of

Alumni being in constant touch with the school. Speaking on the occasion, Head of School, Mrs. Neetha

emphasized the need for further strengthening the bond between the Alumni and School. Later, Mr. Abdul

Basit, Community Outreach and Alumni Coordinator, gave an overview of the plan for the ADHS Alumni

structure. He discussed the roles and responsibilities of the Alumni Board members.

Mrs. Menon then introduced the Alumni Board Members of the year 2016. The alumni cheered Gautam

Laungani and Viraj Khanderao as they stepped forward to accept their roles as Chairperson and Vice

Chairperson respectively. Gautam addressed the gathering and asked members to volunteer for the roles of

Graduate Relations Officers. The board members are to meet formally in February 2016 to further discuss

their line of action. Mrs. Menon also discussed the Alumni Buddy programme where the alumni members

studying in different Universities and Countries would support the Diyafites in their admission procedures.

The Meet ended with a promise to meet again.

Everyone bid an emotional farewell to each other and their beloved teachers.

“The life and essence of art-be it painting, music or

dance-lies in expressing through a wellspring of

emotions, the universal realm of the human spirit. It

is a melding of the individual and the universal. That

is why great art reaches beyond ethic and national

barriers to move people all over the world”

-Dr. Daisaku Ikeda

THE POETIC HEART is a poetry symposium focus-

ing on promoting PEACE, HARMONY and UNI-

VERSAL LOVE. It serves as a platform to celebrate

poetry and encourages young budding school poets

from different schools all over Dubai.

The program took place in a large ballroom done in

theatre style seating arrangement. The seats were

filled with students from sixteen different schools

and we Diyafites were privileged to be one amongst them. We were also accompanied by the students from

Al Manzil and SNF Development centre.

The event commenced with a welcome note by two lovely hosts which was followed by a rejuvenating chorus

by Naseem. We were largely entertained by the poems of George Masao Yamazawa. We were blown away

by the intensity of his performance. We then had poetry recitations by the young talented students selected

from the numerous entries sent. We Diyafites too stood proudly upstage thanks to Malvika Suresh’s beautiful

yet thought-provoking poetry. The students from Al Manzil had brought forth an amazing array of poetry and

had showcased their talents in the field of English Language.

To add up to the day’s highlights we had a brief music concert. We were truly engaged by the amazing per-

formance of Sami Khalil, a special needs student on the drums and the performance of the young, rising,

singer Esther Eden Fernandes.

We soon came to the heart of the event wherein eminent poets recited poems in a plethora of languages. We

had Dr. Shihab Ghanem recite poems for us in Arabic which was truly heartfelt and touching. We had Prof.

Kithaka wa Mberia recite poems for us in Swahili which was extremely fun to listen to listen to. Lastly, we

had Mr. Claudio Pozzani reciting his poems in Italian, a truly born entertainer he was!!

The ceremony concluded with trophy-distribution to the student poets and a closing address by our two lovely

hosts of the day once more.

It was an amazing opportunity to be a part of this glorious event. It was truly a festival of visual and acoustic beauty.

Sneha,9G1

The flags of spirit, confidence and team work stood high through the month of December as the students of

Al Diyafah reigned their rides into the basketball and foot-

ball courts competing in the annual inter-house tournament

clashes between the houses. With all four houses up against

each other, true sportsmanship and the power of teamwork

stood high above the bare motive of just winning where a

various display of talent, and vigor towards the game was

flaunted swelling their teammates hearts with pride as the

houses played their way off to the top. Cheers and motivat-

ing shouts filled the air, as the houses were classified as fol-

lowing;

BOYS BASKETBALL INTER HOUSE -RESULTS- 15TH DECEMBER,2015

Year 7,8 First William Wordsworth

Second Jesse Owens

Year 9,10 First Albert Einstein

Second Marco Polo

Year 11,12,13 First Jesse Owens

Second Albert Einstein

BOYS FOOTBALL INTER HOUSE -RESULTS- 13TH DECEMBER,2015

Year 7,8 First William Wordsworth

Second Albert Einstein

Year 9,10 First Jesse Owens

Second Albert Einstein

Year 11,12,13 First William Wordsworth

Second Marco Polo

GIRLS FOOTBALL INTER HOUSE -RESULTS -15TH DECEMBER,2015

Year 7,8 First William Wordsworth

Second Jesse Owens

Year 9,10 First William Wordsworth

Second Jesse Owens

Year 11,12,13 First Jesse Owens

Second William Wordsworth

GIRLS BASKETBALL INTER HOUSE -RESULTS- 13TH DECEMBER,2015

Year 7,8 First Albert Einstein

Second Marco Polo

Year 9,10 First William Wordsworth

Second Marco Polo

Year 11,12,13 First William Wordsworth

Second Albert Einstein

While we say kudos to the winners, we ask the houses as always to keep their spirits high and continue to

work towards their goal every other year because talent wins games but teamwork and intelligence wins

championships.

Monthly Puzzle Puzzles are also an important educational learning tool in a human’s life as they provide many skills and mental learning benefits and opportunities. Eye Online introduces its first monthly puzzle segment. We believe that the interaction of the students to the newsletter is equally important as being aware of the environmental happen-ings. Puzzle 1 (Math Week): Place the digits 1 to 8, into the grid. The numbers you can see are the totals for the surround-ing numbers. (Hint: Only one pair of numbers will add up to 25) Answer to the puzzle can be submitted on or before 18th February to Ms Reema Sanaj or Ms Caroline Pinto. Students with the correct answers will be featured in the next edition of Eye Online.

Good Luck Puzzling! Deepak Devjani,10B1

Everything changed when we found the falcon wing…..

Okay, not everything. We were still hopelessly lost, our rucksacks seemed to get progressively heavier, and

our compass and map dutifully disagreed with each other!

At this point, it’s time for a little background information. This was the second morning of our Duke of Edin-

burgh’s assessed adventure journey, and we had just undergone a grueling 13 kilometer trek on the barren

desert the previous day, and shivered through a freezing night with winds so strong that it had almost blown

us away with us still inside the tents. We had only had cup noodles made with barely luke warm water –

which had settled in our stomachs in uncomfortable clumps!

Yet, we had woken up bright and early the next day, ready for the trek, in order to pursue the distant dream

of a hot shower and warm bed.

We soon found ourselves hopelessly lost, doomed to live in our xerophytic environment for ever. Until we

found that falcon wing…

It seemed like a beacon of good fortune, evident by the events that occurred immediately afterward. Our

journey instructor Andy, came swiftly in his luxurious Prado, and set us on the right path.

Yes, we had to back track a few kilometers, and yes, we realized that we had inadvertently walked an extra 5

kilometers. But to cut the story short, we managed to reach our destination camp with gusto, albeit a little

worse of wear.

-Sowmya Gopalakrishnan –12G

And that is the story of how a falcon wing metaphorically saved our lives!

“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy

called guts.”– Dan Gable

For nearly a month our young Diyafah athletes sweated it out with determination as they prepared, practiced

and participated in various events which reached a crescendo at our Annual Athletic Meet which was held on

the 17th and 18th of February at Al Thiqah Stadium in Sharjah.

Diyafah and environment go hand in hand and the theme of our meet highlighted our care and concern for

the environment – Racing to a Fitter, Cleaner and Greener Environment.

Encouraged, motivated and cheered by the house masters, mistresses, captains, staff and parents the athletes

put up a gutsy performance as they raced towards the finish line. In the Girls section the Albert Einstein

house won the overall championship while the William Wordsworth house bagged the bragging rights in the

Boys section.

The students were treated to a rare spectacle as the parents and staff showed a glimpse of their running skills.

The meet wasn’t only about track events. The marchpast, band display and drills bore testimony to the disci-

pline, creativity, hard work and coordination skills of our students.

At the end of the day not all might have won a medal but memories were created which will definitely be

cherished for a lifetime. The efforts of the students and staff in making the Athletic meet a great success is

truly laudable.

Colin D’costa

Physical Education Department

CREDITS:TEMPLATE-SAUD-12B,COMPILING-SHAGUN-10G1,HEADING-SAINA AND SUMUDU-11G1,

EDITING-MS.USHA ,MS.REEMA