School Hunting In Dubai

I'd like to share my experience in finding school here in Dubai. Very tough and search is still going on.

We reached here in May , which means Registrations and Admissions in every school is closed. I knew what to expect as I knew how schools here work. Most of the schools' yearly session begins in the month of September. To be able to get the admission, you need to start making calls for registration a year before like in the month of October at least. If you want your child to be enrolled in the school for the September 2013 classes , you need to have him registered in October 2012. Registration dates vary from school to school so you need to be vigilant regarding this. You should always be aware of what is "going on" in schools.
Since I was too late already , I ended up calling just any school around our area and everyone told me no more seat available. I literally begged some schools as I didn't want to waste my child's year. I had no idea, that I will never get admission anywhere. I wanted a school not very far from where we live so preferred areas were Jebel Ali, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, even till Al Barsha but all efforts in vain. Not a single seat anywhere.

 My daughter is supposed to be in FS2 , which means she is too old for a Nursery School but I convinced myself to put her in one just so she can experience a normal routine of going to school, have friends, socialize and learn at the same time. So I started my search for a good decent Nursery around. There were couple of Nurseries like Chubby Cheeks Nursery, Bubbles & Giggles , Jebel Ali Village Nursery.  Okay first and foremost the nurseries are very costly. Okay now if they are charging so, I asked what are they going to teach the children. What curriculum is to be followed, what will kids learn after coming out of the Nursery. They had vague replies. None of them satisfied me. Just by speaking to them I came to know that Nurseries here are basically Day cares. Kids will go there, play till they want, eat, drink, sleep and sing. They might be taught the abs's and 123's but that's it. There is really no serious teaching and learning. So why pay that much then? I dropped this idea as I can teach better. Why throw away money for something I don't even want.

So now, I am my daughter's teacher preparing her for Grade 1. I had her registered in GEMS Winchester for the year 2014. I paid registration fee of AED500 . So one whole year ahead of us. There are couple of schools more in my mind where I plan to register too as registration doesn't mean you got the seat, it means you are in the waiting list. So I can't take any risk and should be in waiting list of more schools hoping to get a call form any one with the good news that we can enroll our daughter now.  But my search is still on, keep making calls hoping someone to withdraw and the seat be given to my child. 

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Should Teachers in Karachi Wear Uniforms?

My vote is "YES"

I personally think that schools' administration should start thinking about the idea of setting a particular dress code or uniforms for their staff.  There is this daily issue of what a particular teacher might be wearing today or whatsoever, so to avoid such puzzles, why not set a really nice and decent uniform for them?

While some teachers come to school in a presentable dress, some really disappoints you. But we cannot blame them for that too. What if that's what they can afford only or they really have this weird choice.

Once they come in uniforms, not only will it add to the standard of your school, they will look very decent and professional at the same time. Three sets of uniform for the whole year is not a bad idea at all.

Some teachers may find it expensive and extra expenses but it is all justified by the fact that now they will be able to save from making new dresses once in a while and instead spend just once on these.

Another important thing that just be part of the rule is Teachers' Hygiene which is very important not just for the school environment but for students too. Remember , children learn from what they see more than what they hear. They should take shower daily and come to school smelling fresh. They might not be able to retain their freshness till off timings, so a solution for this is they use deodorant. They can easily buy one from Rs.95 and above depends on the brand, this should be a burden for them. Rs. 95 or even 150 every month shouldn't be a burden. But if the school administration is rich and has a big heart, why not gift your teachers one if not every month every three months ? :D

Picture taken from http://www.graphicsfactory.com

This post is related to my previous post "Should Teachers Dress Up" and I'm kind of giving a suggestion to solve the issue discussed earlier which is neglected by most schools. I hope somebody authorized reads this and would make a difference.

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Should Teachers Dress Up?

Well YES! Teachers in most of other countries wear uniform and look really good and decent in that. But in Pakistan, uniform is not introduced in schools yet for teachers, well not that I heard of.

We are individuals and have our own taste in every matter including dressing up. Not everyone looks as pleasing as you might expect because you might not like her choice of dress. But, hygiene and neatness is something that is common and should be common to each of one whether you're a Pakistani or American.

In school, one get to see teachers cat walking around the school ,showing off their style and fashion which I,as a Head love to see because I like teachers to look their best all the time.

Here's the actual situations in most of the schools. In normal days, like during regular classes, teachers do not pay too much attention on what they wear and end up looking like a great disappointment. The young teachers , the ones below 30 try their best to look good which is appreciable. Though some of them over do it by wearing really large accessories. The "little bit older" teachers, the married ones you can say, come to school in their house dress, very lousy looking and stinks a lot as if they have changed their babies' diapers but not their clothes.

Coming to school in a bad condition shows how disorganized, un-interested and unhappy you are. When you are in school, you are a different person and should leave behind all your worries at home because you are going to deal with different people specially your students. Before anything else, you are the first your students are going to interact first, so the more pleasant you look,the more happy the day will be for your students as well as for you. Kids idolize their teachers,  they look up to you as someone they would want to become when they grow up specially the girls. Show them how you would want to see them and how you would want to be seen. Think about this deeply.

So prepare your clean clothes the day before going to school so you get enough time to choose for the best, doing this in the morning the same day you got to school, will make you choose hurriedly and you'd end up picking a "not-so-good"  dress or a dress you've been wearing for the last 4 days. You don't want that , do you?

Iron your clothes neatly and shower daily to avoid unwanted and unbearable odor.  Please take care of how you smell too, I get a really bad headache whenever a staff member enters my office spreading a really unpleasant smell around the place and you don't want to leave such an impression to anyone. Buy yourself a good deodorant , a nice body powder or perfume/body spray. Your kids will love you for this as well as colleagues.

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Healthy Snacks For School

Since our kids are about to be going back to school soon, it is very important to plan what we should put in their lunch box.

As a teacher, what I observed was, three out  of ten students brought along with them junk food which was so disappointing. I always wanted to raise this issue but was never supported by my heads.

Through this blog , I will definitely make my voice heard ,well to some extent.

Eating healthy food is always recommended even for adults. But for age group 0 to 6 years  it is very important to give kids of this age only healthy food as their body and bones are still growing and very soft that they can absorb anything you give.  And of course that's when you teach them what to eat and what not and it's up to them till when they continue this habit. This is the period where you build a proper eating pattern with regards to timings and menu.

Now regarding snacks/lunch for school, some parents tend to be lazy in preparing home-made food for their kids for several reasons and for some parents, they think that sending junk food with their kids might make them happy when they open their lunch boxes just to find their favorite eatables. No one can deny the fact that kids love junk food or let's say any food that is not prepared in their own homes.

Some of the junk food found in kids' lunch box:

1. Candies

2. Chips

3. Chewing gum- the most dangerous , I think it shouldn't be given to kids at all!

4.  Lollipop

5. Chocolates

Some Healthy Food that you can give :

1. Sandwich - Make a quick spread of boiled eggs and mayonnaise

2. Instant Noodles - I suggest boiled in a chicken stock

3. Mashed potatoes or potato balls

4. Sliced cucumber, carrots or any fruit. Kids love this a lot. My kids love eating fresh veggies and fruits.

5. Roasted green peas-roast or fry green peas in butter for 7 minutes, mu=y kids can eat this for hours.

6. French fries - Personally I think French Fries prepared at home isn't junk at all.

And many more.

The above are some quick-lunch that you can make and send along with any juice. Prepare what you can at night so there won't be any excuse the next day like getting late, busy attending other members of the family because this way, your kid gets neglected.

Set your priorities and this one is one of them.

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