The first day of school is a day filled with excitement for students and parents alike. Perfectly aware of this fact, SABIS® schools around the world planned ahead to make sure that the first day lived up to everyone’s expectations! Let’s take a tour around the network to see what excitement the first day of school held.
At the International School of Choueifat – Dubai (ISC-Dubai) in the U.A.E., prefects in the SABIS Student Life Organization® (SLO®) focused their efforts on making Kindergarten students feel welcome on their first day away from home. They decorated the school with Smurf-themed balloons, bubbles, and props. Kindergarteners took pictures with their parents in the photo booth and were then guided by “Smurfs” to their classrooms to meet their teachers and classmates.
The SABIS® International School – Adma (SIS-Adma) in Lebanon also focused its attention on helping the youngest students among them enjoy their first experience at school. The school set up a photo booth complete with banner and props for the children and their parents to mark this momentous day. SLO® prefects then accompanied each and every child to their class to meet their teachers and classmates.
Watch this video to to see what a happy day “Back to School” was at SIS-Adma:
The joyous atmosphere was not only limited to Kindergarten. At the International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main (ISF) in Germany, Grade 1 students were greeted with a traditional welcome ceremony on the first day of school. Seventy-five (75) first graders, along with their parents, younger siblings, and grandparents, gathered in the school theater for a special ceremony that included musical performances and a special poem by ISF second graders. Many first graders brought the traditional German “Schultüte,” a paper cone filled with sweets and toys, to ease them into their first day of school. After being called to the stage to meet their teachers, each of four Grade 1 classes paraded off to their classrooms to start their day.
At the International School of Choueifat – Cairo (ISC-Cairo) in Egypt, first through sixth graders were welcomed back to school with huge smiley face stickers held at the entrance of the school by prefects from the SLO® Outreach Department. In Baku, Azerbaijan, SABIS® SUN students were welcomed back with a cheerful and festive atmosphere. Senior students stood at the gate and welcomed students and parents to their school.
"On my first day of the school [at ISC-Cairo] I was greeted by prefects of the school with a big smile, and I felt very welcomed. It didn’t feel like I was a new student."
–— Selin Akbay, Grade 9.
In the U.S., private and charter schools alike got equally creative! On their first day of school, The International School of Minnesota (ISM) lower school students were invited to participate in fun singing and coloring sessions, which they gladly took part in. Upper school students wrote out their goals on sticky notes and hung them in the classroom as a reminder throughout the year.
At Holyoke Community Charter School (HCCS), a SABIS® public charter school in the U.S., the first day of school was spectacular! One hundred and fifty (150) fathers walked their kids to school as part of The Million Father March, a nationwide initiative aimed at underlining the importance of fathers actively participating in the educational and social development of their children.
Watch this video of HCCS fathers walking their children to school on their first day:
With such a great start, the 2017-18 academic year is bound to be a success, but don’t just take our word for it, follow us on Facebook!
For schools in the U.S. and Europe, follow facebook.com/sabisEducationalSystems/.
For schools in the MENA region and Asia, follow facebook.com/sabiseducationalservices/.