Our School Was Founded in 2006 and Became Part of the Nord • There Is No Limit to What Every Child Anglia Education Family in September 2013
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WelcomeAt Compass to Gharaffa our we Schoolwant all of our children to be ambitious. We will offer them an inspiring and engaging primary curriculum in a warm, welcoming and supportive environment tailored to meet the needs of every child. Our expert staff will blend opportunity, challenge and support to ensure that every child has a first class international education and a great start to school. Gharaffa Campus Parent Handbook 1 Message from the Principal Welcome to Compass International School, Gharaffa. We hope that access to the Nord Anglia Global Campus, where they are able to you find this School Guide a useful source of information to help view and share work with students from around the world. you understand how we do things here and what makes us the right Competitions are also run through the Global Campus and last choice for your child. year two of our students were selected to have their short stories Compass Gharaffa along with its sister campus Compass Rayyan published in the annual Nord Anglia Anthology. Another of our are specialist British Primary Schools providing a first class English- students had their illustration published in the same book. based education for local students and the children of expat Our children excel in music and sport and take part in competitions families. and galas in Doha and around the region. Across the two campuses Gharaffa and Rayyan educate around 1000 We run many visits and trips including two residential visits for our students from over 70 different nationalities. The schools along with older children. Compass International School, Madinat Khalifa and Nord Anglia International School Al Khor are part of the Nord Anglia family of Central to our work with the children is our relationship with parents. International Schools in Qatar. We want you to be involved and engaged in your child’s education. We will be holding family and community events throughout the At Compass Gharaffa, we offer the UK curriculum for Early Years in year and monthly coffee mornings. The activities will range from EY1 and EY2 and the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) with film nights to discos, family picnics to the fantastic Arabic Night. I do British National Curriculum English and maths from Years 1 to 6. encourage you to join us at these events and welcome the support In addition to the International Curriculum we also offer an Arabic of those who would like to volunteer to help us run them. curriculum and a Dutch mother tongue program. Alongside these curricula we also offer a specialised curriculum for our Qatari If after reading this guide you have any suggestions for additional students that fully complies with the requirements of the Supreme information or if you have further questions about the life and Education Council of Qatar. work of Compass Gharaffa, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] As part of the Nord Anglia family of international schools, we are able to access some unique features through our links with our 42 Kind regards partner schools distributed across 15 countries worldwide. Most significant of these advantages is the support for students and teachers provided by our online community the Global Campus. Mr. Graham Horton B. Ed. (Hons) Students from Year 4 (aged 8) and above can benefit from direct 2 Gharaffa Campus Parent Handbook Across the two campuses Gharaffa and Rayyan educate around 1000 students from over 70 different nationalities. Gharaffa Campus Parent Handbook 3 Who are we? Our Philosophy We are a private co-educational school set across three campuses Our 42 Nord Anglia International Schools worldwide are united by in Doha, Qatar. Our campuses are at Gharaffa, Rayyan and Madinat our common philosophy, ‘Be Ambitious’. Khalifa. Our sister school at Madinat Khalifa caters for children from We are committed to helping your child to achieve outstanding 5 to 18. Compass Gharaffa and Compass Rayyan specialise in the academic, social and personal excellence and we are committed to education of children from 3 – 11. Children from Compass Gharaffa recruiting and employing only the very best teachers from around and Compass Rayyan usually transfer for Year 7 to our Madinat the world. Khalifa campus, subject to meeting the entry criteria. The Principal of Compass Gharaffa and Compass Rayyan is Mr. Graham Horton. The Head of Gharaffa Campus is Mrs. Margaret Pilkington. There are approximately 600 children at Compass Gharaffa. We believe that Our school was founded in 2006 and became part of the Nord • There is no limit to what every child Anglia Education family in September 2013. Nord Anglia is one of can achieve the world’s leading international schools organisation with over 40 schools across 34 locations in 15 countries, educating around 32,000 students. We work closely with our family of schools across • Creativity, challenge and support the world to share best practice in all areas of education. Compass helps us get better every day Gharaffa is therefore able to offer the benefits and feel of a small school with all the benefits of being a ‘Global Campus’. • Learning should be personalised for You can find out more about Nord Anglia Education via their each individual child website: http://www.nordangliaeducation.com/ • Unique global experiences enhance every child’s learning experience 4 Gharaffa Campus Parent Handbook Gharaffa Campus Parent Handbook 5 6 Gharaffa Campus Parent Handbook We are truly international At Compass Gharaffa we have over 60 different nationalities and and will leave our schools with a greater understanding and respect we celebrate this through our curriculum, regular assemblies, for their ‘brothers and sisters’ around the world. They really are National Day activities and our annual International Day event. ‘Global Citizens’. Our children learn about other countries, cultures and customs How to find us ShamalShamal FlyoverFlyover Compass Gharaffa enjoys an excellent location just off Al Gharaffa Street and between Al Lucqta Street and Thani bin Jassim Street. Al Duhail AL DUHAIL(South) SOUTH We are near the Qatar National Convention Centre and Ezdan Mall. Our Gharaffa campus is conveniently located for families living in the Al Gharaffa and Madinat Khalifa areas of the city and is also easily accessible from Al Markhiya. Compass Gharaffa is Landmark ALAl GHARRAFA Gharaffa Gulf Mall ShoppingLandmark Mall situated in a quiet residential area approximately 15 minutes Shopping Mall Ezdan from its sister schools. Shopping Mall MadinatMADINAT KhalifaKHALIFA AL SHAMAL ROAD (North) Al Shamal Rd (NORTH) The campus includes sports pitches, a large fully air conditioned Thani bin Jassim St t multi-purpose sports hall, a swimming pool and a brand new S eq re ba l A b A music centre. The classrooms are bright and welcoming and all Waa Al Gharaffa St Al Gharaffa Al are equipped with the latest technology including interactive AL WAAB AL ABAREEQ STREET whiteboards, laptops and iPads. ImmigrationImmigration Al MayalMayal InterchangeRoundabout (Slope) Roundabout Roundabout ALAl LUOTA Luqta STREET St For our specific location details visit our website at EducationEducation City www.cisdoha.com and select Gharaffa. City Makkam St MAKKAM STREET AL RAYYANAl Rayyan ALL DADEEM All Dadeem AL GEDAY STREET AL LUOTA Gharaffa Campus Parent Handbook 7 The Primary Curriculum We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) approach from into class to see what the children have been learning. Parents the United Kingdom. This is a play based provision, focusing on are encouraged to come along to these events and to share their developing independence and early language and mathematics children’s learning and excitement. skills. The children direct their own learning under the supervision Languages, Music and P.E. are taught by specialist teachers at of our skilled early years educators. The classrooms and outdoor Compass Gharaffa. areas interlink and children are allowed free flow through to activities of their choice. There are dedicated and separate outdoor At Compass Gharaffa, children have the opportunity to learn play areas for EY1 and EY2. Outdoor provision is a key part of the French, Spanish and Mandarin depending on which year group Early Years offer at Compass Gharaffa. The Early Years department is they are in. We also offer basic Arabic for non-native speakers and led by an experienced and highly skilled UK trained EY specialist. we run the NTC approved Dutch Language program for Dutch first language speakers. Our Primary Curriculum is based upon the highly respected National Curriculum for England 2014. We also offer Arabic Language, Islamic Studies and Qatari History taught in Arabic in line with the guidelines from the Supreme From Year 1 all of our children study mathematics for 5 hours each Education Council of Qatar. This curriculum has slightly reduced week and English for 6 hours each week. These lessons take place at amounts of IPC and specialist tuition but must be followed by our the start of each day when the children are at their most receptive. Qatari students. The programmes of study are taken directly from the National Curriculum for England. One of our key priorities is to ensure that all children have a really strong grasp of the English language as soon as possible and so You can find out more about this curriculum athttp://www. we have a very active English as an additional language (EAL) risingstars-uk.com/free-stuff/national-curriculum-parents-guide department including specialist staff who can assist children At the end of each academic year the children will be assessed starting at Compass Gharaffa with no English at all. We have very against the criteria set in this curriculum for English and maths. close links with the Hibernia Language Centre who can provide Other subjects are grouped into themes and studied together after school and holiday English classes for children of all ages.