2023 Q1 Newsletter
Welcome to our quarterly edition of the Ras Al Khaimah Teachers Network (RAKTN) newsletter.
In these newsletters, you will get to know the different activities that are lined up for educators and a peek into upcoming initiatives.
Thank you all for being a part of the Foundation’s Professional Development Programs and we look forward to your active participation and involvement.
We wish you Ramadan Mubarak!
Warm regards,
RAKTN
Spring 2023 PD Course offerings
How time flies by! The Spring PD Cycle is coming to an end. To recap some of the themes that have been deliberated upon, teachers examined their practice and the overall efficacy of their delivery and assessment approaches and explored creative brainstorming tools. Furthermore, participants created blogs, analysed emerging trends in education, fundamental principles of pedagogical approaches to deepen students’ learning, and delved deeper into speed reading techniques and strategies. It is no secret that learning gaps and behaviour/classroom management post-pandemic are ‘glaring teachers in the face.’ It was calming to know that other educators are grappling with the same challenges, listening to how they are addressing these issues and sharing their experiences with others was encouraging. Yes, a lot of topics were shared and fortunately, these discussions were recorded. For more details find the featured courses, here;
- ‘Keys’ to Successful Classroom Management
- Strategies For Bridging Learning Gaps
- Speed Reading: How to read faster, understand more and remember longer
- Innovation In Teaching & Learning
- Deconstructing Pedagogical Approaches
- Using Technology to Enhance Teaching & Learning
- Maximising the Impact of Using Mind-Maps
- Reflective Teaching
Evidence in RAK Schools
We are pleased to inform you that we are adding more resources to support classroom instruction. This segment is going to delve into how teachers are using evidence to inform their teaching. Our pioneers are some of our trainers who are also full-time teachers in both public and private schools and /or university lecturers who embed evidence use into their teaching practice.
The main purpose of the Evidence in Ras Al Khaimah Schools is to leverage the best resources we have: educators, in Ras Al Khaimah public & private schools to share best teaching practices, insights and firsthand experiences of what works and what doesn’t work for them and their students, as well as build a repertoire of resources for other educators to use.
Below are our pioneers sharing their learning….
How to share your learning
- Send an email to Jackie Koba with “Evidence in RAK Schools: (Proposed Title)” in the subject line and include the following:
- A few words about the target audience
- An overview of the strategy on what & how to spark students’ curiosity, engagement, etc
- What research says about the topic
- How you are using the practice in your classroom/lecture room
- Photos of this practice in ‘action’ in your classroom/lecture room and add tools and or links that make it possible (if any)
- Full disclosure of any commercial interest in any products mentioned
We welcome pieces on all academic subjects and grades from K to 12. However, if your piece has appeared in any publication, we will not accept it.
Below are our pioneers sharing their learning….
RAK Awards for Educational Excellence
Restructuring of the RAK Awards for Educational Excellence (RAK Awards) is finally complete. This initiative aims to create an educational ecosystem that supports innovation, creativity, and excellence. It encourages educational institutions to implement development standards and motivate schools, teachers, students, and all stakeholders involved in the educational process to support quality pathways, which lead to the improvement of the educational system in Ras Al Khaimah.
Keep your ears to the ground as the team will soon pay your school a visit in-person or virtually for more details. Without spilling the beans, these are the major themes; ‘Wellbeing, Innovation, Research, Performance, and Sustainability.’
Start compiling your evidence😊
Eligibility: It will be open to all educators in both private and public schools however, one of the criteria will be that a candidate should have participated in at least two recent Professional Development courses offered by the Al Qasimi Foundation.
Call for “Outstanding” Ras Al Khaimah School Project Grant Applications
The Al Qasimi Foundation’s Professional Development Program is grounded in evidence that teachers themselves, rather than outside consultants often have the solutions to the problems they face because of their experience in the classroom and rich local knowledge of students’ strengths and weaknesses.
Based on these principles, the Foundation established its Community Impact Grants to support and inspire educators to find creative, collaborative approaches that are a springboard for improving student learning. These grants seek to highlight positive impacts and measureable results individuals and schools can make based on their intimate knowledge of their students and the local community.
There are four levels of funding available depending on the applicant(s) involved and the nature of the proposed project or initiative:
- Individuals (up to 5,000 AED)
- Schools (up to 10, 000AED)
- Collaborations (up to 25,000 AED)
- Partnerships (up to 50,000 AED)
For details, please visit Community Grants (alqasimifoundation.com)
To apply, please complete this form Government Grant Application (alqasimifoundation.com)
Educational Resources
Visit https://alemira.com/school/ for readily available teaching resources.
Alemira enables all children to acquire basic math and reading & writing skills. Since its inception in 2007, Alemira offers innovative educational software based on neuroscience to flatten out the inequalities in classrooms. It is an award winning adaptive, multisensory learning for math and orthography. Calcularis helps to improve math skills while promoting effective learning, find more details here https://alemira.com/school/calcularis/, while Orthography enables a child to master the art of reading and spelling https://alemira.com/school/orthograph/. This independent training enables each learner to acquire the basic competencies at their own speed and it’s also ideal for Dyslexia screening and intervention measures. To partner with Alemira, contact them here https://alemira.com/partners/ or reach out to us in the email provided below for more details.
Follow us on our different social media websites
To learn more about the latest news related to education, Ras Al Khaimah, and the UAE, please follow the Al Qasimi Foundation on social media! You can see how it supports the social, cultural, and economic development in our community.
School News-The 2023 RAKFAF (Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival) Art Exploration Program
As a community-centered initiative, the RAKFAF festival believes that art is essential for the holistic development of a society. Art encourages creativity, grows confidence, fosters collaboration, allows for new ways of thinking and seeing the world. Not many schools incorporate art into their learning hence our program supplements the missing curriculum. With the massive learning loss experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is even now more crucial that students expose themselves to socio-emotional learning through practical and hands-on activities. The RAKFAF Art Exploration Program therefore, allowed students to come out and immerse themselves in experiential and kinesthetic learning. 670 Students from twenty-nine public and private schools interacted, created, and discovered the natural environment outside of conventional classrooms.
Students participated in a range of art workshops including; paper collage, sponge and mosaic art, string painting, performing arts (Theatre/Improvisation/Traditional dances), recycling and repurposing, calligraphy, etc.
Want your school to participate in the 2024 RAKFAF festival? Contact us for details.
Ever wondered what is going on at other Ras Al Khaimah schools while you’re hard at work teaching your students? If you would like your school’s news as well as initiatives to be featured, please send a message to jackie.k@alqasimifoundation.rak.ae
Our Mission
The Ras Al Khaimah Teachers Network exists to enable community educators to collaborate, share knowledge, and support one another.
All teachers and education leaders in Ras Al Khaimah are welcome to join this network, share their experiences, ask questions, and support one another by making Ras Al Khaimah an inspiring and transformative teaching and learning environment.
