1st December 2009
by Wendy Berliner, Director for Parental Engagement
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| Click here to visit the GEMS Parental Engagement website www.learnaspirebe.com which is currently being developed and populated. |
Our first ever Parental Engagement Week takes place in all GEMS schools from January 10 to January 16 with more than 70 events already planned and more in the pipeline.
The idea of the week is to get over the critical message that parents matter enormously to the success of their children – that they cannot leave everything to school and that they need to be engaged in the student’s learning in the home.
Parent Engagement Champions in all our schools throughout the UAE are spearheading a fantastic range of activities centred on getting parents more engaged with their children’s learning.
These include:
- heart to heart discussions with parents and students at home
- quality time with parents and students sharing activities at home like reading, music, games or playing chess or making music
- parents being taught sample lessons by students or teachers so that they understand more what goes on in schools
- student and parent debates
There are whole school events – Westminster International School in Dubai, for example, has asked all its students to decorate a mask at home and they will all be on display at the school by the end of the week – more than 5000 of them!
There will be talent shows and quizzes, art events and sports matches for parents and students combined, a family rock climbing course, homework workshops and parenting classes and so much more!
One school will even be live streaming some lessons to parents so that they can understand what a modern classroom is like. The ever growing list of activities is on www.learnaspirebe.com - the website set up by GEMS to promote parent engagement, good parenting and GEMS Parenting Engagement Week.
Ralph Tabberer, who was the Director General of Schools for England, before he joined GEMS in April 2009, says : “When it comes to children reaching their educational potential, parental engagement is the silver bullet. Parents must be active in supporting the teaching and learning process. GEMS is determined to make the most of this fabulous asset - our parents - and to bring parental engagement to the centre of what we do.”
Professor Bill Lucas, Professor of Learning at the University of Winchester and a GEMS consultant, and Wendy Berliner, GEMS Director For Parental Engagement are busy populating the site with content with useful features and tips for parents.
Bill, who has written many books on parenting and learning, will be here for GEMS Parental Engagement Week from the UK doing talks for parents on helping their children succeed. He will also be talking to teachers about how best to engage parents in learning.
Wendy Berliner, GEMS Director For Parental Engagement, says: “The energy and excitement being put into the events by our parent engagement champions and the schools is amazing. What a difference this week will make to the learning successes of our children.”
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