Christmas Holidays!

We have reached the end of the first term, and as usual we have had many end-of-term and pre-Christmas activities. The primary presented their Christmas shows to the parents and were very successful and thoroughly enjoyable! The primary student council hosted a Christmas fair with all sorts of games, including a visit to Santa's Grotto.
The secondary enjoyed their Christmas disco organised by the student council which was well-attended. Even Minnie Mouse made an appearance!
Of course, another highlight was the high school Christmas assembly, where traditional songs were sung and the staff displayed their hidden acting talents!

Grade 5 Assembly

This morning grade 5 presented their assembly on six of the world's religions. They presented facts about Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. The pupils worked in groups to build a place of worship for each of the religions, which they described to the rest of the senior primary school. Well done to grade 5 for speaking so clearly and confidently and for teaching us new things!

After a long time...

We have been fairly silent in cyberspace recently, but that does not mean nothing has been happening at the school! On the contrary, days have been so full that they soon roll into weeks which very quickly become months.

Of course, the Christmas spirit has descended upon the school and 'tis the season to be jolly! The trees are up and decorated and the hall is being transformed by the Christmas artwork. The hallways are beginning to echo with the sound of the primary Christmas production as the begin preparing for their big day when they get to perform for the rest of the school and their parents.

Today, grade 8, 9, 10 and 11 pupils enjoyed a day in the "winter" sunshine as we went on an outing to a place called "Team Tech" which is near the port city of Caesarea. Our pupils participated in various team-building activities, which also gave them a chance to display their leadership gifts and abilities.

Primary Outing

This is the second year that the Primary School enjoyed an outdoor fieldtrip at Kibbutz Nir Eliyahu. Each year group worked independently and had grade specific tasks.

The Reception class and Grade One made apple puppets.

Grades 1 and 2 and 4 made perfume from freshly ground herbs and spices.

Grade 4 also made pomanders using apples, cloves and cinnamon. All the students made pita, labenah and butter which they enjoyed towards the end of the day.

In addition to these engaging activities the children visited the 'animal corner' where they saw a wide range of animals from chicken to duck to guinea pigs to goats, sheep and a very tired sow. Wandering along with the children were peacocks and other birds. The children fed the camel and the pony.

The learning objective of the field trip was to develop the link between the land and our food. At each stop along the day the children were asked about where food comes from (before it gets on the lorries that bring it to the shop!!) We are already thinking about visiting Nir Eliyahu next year.

Visitors

We had a wonderful time with some 40 staff members from the Scots Hotel, Tiberius today. The group was treated to some songs by our junior primary pupils. Then we had a time of fellowship in the school library where the history of the school was shared, ending with a short tour of the school.

Back to school!

We have reached the end of the first week back and to tell the truth it does not seem like we have been away for two months! Everyone is getting back into routine and already there is good teaching and learning taking place. We have 324 pupils in the school and most of our classes are full to capacity, with many children on waiting lists, mainly in the primary classes. We look forward to a good year.

At the moment our Muslim families are observing Ramadan and there are many Jewish holidays coming up, which is always a disruption to the school. Rosh Ha'Shannah (Jewish New Year) will be celebrated next week on Thursday and Friday, with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) happening the week after that. Also later this month is the celebration of Succot (Feast of Tabernacles) so it is going to be "stop-start-stop-start" over the next few weeks.

Exam results

Our exam results for grade 10, 11 and 12 have been published and we can say that overall we are very pleased with them!

When comparing our grade 10 GCSE results with England, this is what it looks like:

Passes at A* to C: England - 69%
Tabeetha grade 10 - 86%
Passes at grade A* and A: England - 22.6%
Tabeetha grade 10 - 48%
Students with five or more A* to C passes: England - 62%
Tabeetha grade 10 - 69%

We will do a further analysis to include grade 11 and 12 as well and post those finding as soon as possible.

The school is all clean and ready for the pupil's return on Wednesday, 1st September. Our cleaning and maintenance staff have done excellent work in getting everything ready. The primary teachers have been in to work on their rooms to make sure they are areas for effective teaching and learning.

Nearly there!

After a few weeks of silence, we are happy to report that the work in and around the school is coming to an end. Everything should be done and the school campus returned to "normal" by the end of next week. The new ceilings and floors look beautiful and the rooms are safe to be in once again.

The outside paving and kiosk area are looking good and beginning to take shape.

Here are the latest photos:





The primary section of the school is pretty much ready for the teachers to come in and get their rooms ready for next school year.

Primary hall 6 weeks ago!

Primary hall today.

Last entry for three weeks

This will be our last entry for at least three weeks, but here are the latest pictures of the area between our staffroom and secondary English room. This floor should be completed withing the next two weeks.

Preparing for the next floor

Preparations are in full swing for the next floor/ceiling between the staffroom and secondary English room. The old sand and tiles have been removed and the old wood has been stripped and removed. The cement should be ready to be poured next week sometime.

Preparing for the next step...

The work is going according to plan and everything is well organised and running smoothly, thanks to our contractor and his workers.

Here are the latest pictures, showing the work to the ceiling of the senior Maths classroom.


The front of the school has become a dumping ground once again, hence the need for replacing the grass with stones!

The first floor is poured...

After an intricate lattice-work of reinforced steel was set in place, it was time for a hose to be connected from a cement mixer lorry parked outside the school then into the classroom. Then the cement was pumped through and spread evenly across the floor throughout the room. It was quite fascinating to watch!

Here is a short video showing how the cement was applied:

The finished product so far...and no, there is nothing sinister buried in the cement; just a few scattered shekels!

and the work goes on...

Here are the latest pictures of the renovation work. It is amazing to see how this is all coming together.





Work has also started on the outside Math room, which had a dangerous ceiling. Below are pictures of that work so far, including pictures of the rotten wooden beams which were holding up the ceiling.

Renovation update

The work has progressed considerably and is well on schedule.