Exploring Kansas City, Missouri: A Memorable Trip for Destination Imagination Competition

As representatives of the SEK International School Qatar, we not only engaged in an intense competition of Destination Imagination but also had the opportunity to explore various places in Kansas City, Missouri. One of the highlights of our journey was participating in pin trading. The Destination Imagination competition brought together teams from different countries, each with their unique pins representing their culture, traditions, and identities. Moreover, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art mesmerized us with its architecture and its extensive collection of masterpieces, ranging from classical to contemporary art from various artists around the world.

Our visit to Kansas City, Missouri, for the Destination Imagination competition was a remarkable experience. Despite not winning the global finals, we achieved success by securing first place in Qatar, and more importantly, we gained invaluable knowledge and experiences along the way. This journey fostered personal growth, teamwork, and an appreciation for the power of creativity. Kansas City became a place where unforgettable memories were created.

We want to thank everyone for their support. Although we didn’t win this time, we see it as a starting point for improvement. We have gained valuable ideas and inspiration that will drive us to create something even better and aim for victory in the future.

Radio Station ECA

Our SEK-Qatar Radio Station team dedicates every Thursday during ECA time to their work. They put in tremendous effort to prepare programs for both the PYP and MYP Sports Days, and their endeavors paid off as both events turned out to be successful!

After Ramadan and the Eid Holidays, they have been diligently working for the past few weeks, meticulously planning the next podcast. They have drafted the script, conducted and recorded an interesting interview, and gathered valuable information for the announcements.

We invite you to listen to their podcast and show your support by liking the post! Stay tuned for more exciting recordings in the future!

SEK International School Qatar “The Depths of the Atlantic” Team soars to Global Finals after Winning 1st Place in National Destination Imagination Qatar Competition!

Destination Imagination is a renowned program that challenges students to harness their creativity and employ critical thinking skills to tackle a wide array of projects. With a strong emphasis on innovation and collaboration, participants are encouraged to think outside the box and present unique solutions to complex problems.

The Depths of the Atlantic, a group of MYP students from SEK International School Qatar, has recently achieved a remarkable victory in the local Destination Imagination competition. This impressive achievement has earned them a well-deserved first-place finish in the prestigious event, propelling them to the global finals. The team’s success is a testament to their exceptional teamwork, commitment, and creative problem-solving abilities.

To prepare for the competition, the students engaged in a series of processes including creative writing, technical design and acting. Based on the scientific research gathered on marine life, the students designed and created a character with hyperbolic traits using the features of the animals researched. This character was incorporated into a story which sent out a message of hope. Within the story, biological explanations and diagrams were used to enhance communication and develop the understanding of the characters features. To bring the story to life, the students worked together to gather suitable costumes, and create props with materials which were available to them, such as a boat. By combining all these areas and practicing to ensure the play was coherent, the students were successful in completing the Destination Imagination Far-Fetched scientific challenge. 

In addition to the team’s remarkable achievement, other teams from SEK International School Qatar also showcased their incredible talent. The 7AS1 team from the Primary Years Programme (PYP) secured an impressive third-place finish, displaying their exceptional skills and dedication. Furthermore, the Dream Team Clean Machine, also from the primary category, participated in a non-competitive capacity, demonstrating their commitment to environmental sustainability and community service.

The success of these teams has brought great pride and joy to the entire school community. The achievement not only showcases the students’ remarkable skills but also highlights the dedication of the educators and the school’s commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.

With their first-place victory, the depths of the Atlantic team has earned the coveted opportunity to represent Qatar and SEK International School Qatar in the global finals of Destination Imagination in Kansas USA. This remarkable accomplishment speaks volumes about the talent and potential that resides within the students of Qatar, and the team’s participation in the global finals will undoubtedly be a momentous occasion.

The entire SEK International School community stands behind The Depths of the Atlantic team, offering their unwavering support and encouragement. The team’s achievement serves as an inspiration to students across the school, demonstrating the transformative power of teamwork, commitment, and creativity.

Congratulations to The Depths of the Atlantic team, as well as the 7AS1 team and the Dream Team Clean Machine, for their outstanding achievements in the local Destination Imagination competition. Their success is a reflection of their talent, hard work, and the unwavering support of the SEK International School Qatar community. We eagerly await their performance in the global finals and have no doubt that they will continue to make us proud. Good luck, and may their creativity and innovation shine on the world stage!

Ecosystems with Grade 3s

During term 2, Grade 3 students inquired about Ecosystems. Students had the opportunity to show their understanding and knowledge about the new unit using Minecraft Education. They designed in small groups an ecosystem of their choice to after build it on Minecraft. Students had so much fun and the final products were incredible. Here are some pictures 😊

Acknowledgment of Unprivileged Children

We are a group of 8th Graders who have created “Acknowledgement of Unprivileged Children” for our community project. Our goal was to spread awareness on the non-profit organisation that goes by the name Educanepal, that is based and located in Nepal.

This organization helps underprivileged children that have come to the association, due to various reasons, by providing education and a place to stay. We arranged an interview with the founder of the association, Jose Díaz, on the 8th February. Using the information from that interview we have created a documentary that you can watch by scanning the QR code below:

If you are interested in helping this NGO, donations are welcomed through their website! For more information about this association, please check www.educanepal.org.

Every small action counts!

Dana Moawad, Olivia Brunn and Aina Vivas Aguilera
Grade 8

DP Annual Art Exhibition 2021-23

On March 6th, SEK International School Qatar held their annual Diploma Programme Visual Arts Exhibition. This is an annual event that showcases the artwork of students who are completing the IB Diploma’s Visual Arts course. The exhibition provides an opportunity for students to publicly display their artwork, which has been developed over the course of two years, to a wider audience. Throughout the course, students create a body of work that reflects their artistic interests, cultural backgrounds, and personal experiences. The artwork is assessed by both the student’s teacher and an external examiner appointed by the IB organization.  

At the end of the course, students prepare their artwork for display in a public exhibition. We held our exhibition at our school, and the exhibition is open to our school community. The artwork is displayed in a professional manner, with each student’s work arranged in a designated space along with the curator’s comments. The exhibition provides an opportunity for students to showcase their artistic abilities and communicate their ideas and perspectives to a wider audience. 

It was an absolute pleasure to see the great work our students have produced over the course of two years. Through their artwork, our seniors presented themselves not only as skilled artists but also as open-minded, caring, reflective, and internationally-minded young adults. Their topics ranged from displacement to reflection of Self to environmental challenges the world is currently facing.

PYP Exhibition 2023

The exhibition is a celebration for an IB school. It’s the synthesis of the journey throughout the Primary Years Programme, and a time to share the knowledge, achievements and success of each student.

As a culminating experience, the exhibition is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB learner profile that they have been developing throughout their engagement with the PYP. The enthusiasm and motivation exhibited by this group of Grade 5 students throughout their exhibition journey has been admirable.

As inquirers, each Grade 5 student identified a passion,  for which they were personally compelled to investigate, educate and address. Primary and secondary sources were sought, field trips, interviews and observations staged, data collected via surveys, experts consulted and group negotiations conducted.

The mentors, all teachers from within the primary school, supported students with structuring their time, keeping them on track with their research and supporting them with questions and guidance. Our experts, including our specialist teachers, were also on hand to support transdisciplinary learning, and helped the students make their research more interesting.

Grade 5 have been passionate in the way that they have approached these significant and complex passions. They should be very proud of their achievements, and we are sure their parents were proud as they visited their booths on 1st March 2023. While exploring their passions, the parents experienced;

  • The knowledge that the students have generated,
  • The skills the students used in gaining that knowledge.
  • The understanding of concepts which most might think are too difficult for a Grade 5 student to understand.

Our G5 students dazzled us with their research, their singing and their dancing. Congratulations G5 for a successful PYP Exhibition.

Please do visit the PYPX 2023 website to learn more about the students passions and keep checking our YouTube channel for videos of the event.

You may follow the link to view our students’ presentation – SEK-Qatar PYP Exhibition 2023

Grade 4 Solar System

The grade 4’s unit of inquiry is about the Solar System. The students learned the relationship between the Earth, Sun and the Moon. They demonstrated rotation and revolution by acting out in groups. Then the students conducted activities showing the phases of the moon culminating in an exciting hands on activity using Oreo cookies.

World Record attempt – Tonight!

As part of the build up the World Cup the Museum of Islamic Art have organised a Guinness World Record Attempt for the Most Languages in a reading relay of the book Le Petit Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The event is taking place on the 12th of October 2022.

This book has been translated into many languages around the world and on the evening each reader will read a section in their language.

More than 150 people will be involved in breaking the record and we are lucky to have two members of the SEK-Qatar community involved as a reader and judge of the Irish language. Bernadette Coyne will be reading in Irish and Lorraine Kenny will be judging in Irish.

We are so proud of both Bernadette and Lorraine, we wish them lots of luck in breaking the record! We have even learnt some Irish ourselves, Go n’eirí an t-adh leat!

The event will be recorded for Qatar TV and filmed at the Museum of Islamic Art.

Follow them on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/let_the_world_read/

You can watch on the Facebook Live link below tonight (12.10.2022) at 19:30pm Qatar time- 17:30pm Irish time https://bit.ly/3Ey4Uza

SEK International School Qatar has been recognized as a Microsoft Showcase School for the academic year 2022-2023!

Thanks to #MicrosoftEdu Solange Jarjour, Sonja Delafosse and Dina Ghobashy for their continued support.

We are really proud of being awarded this recognition for the 5th time in a row. Requirements for the award continue to remain very strict, hence only eight other schools in Qatar have been recognized as Microsoft Showcase Schools.

This has been only possible thanks to the great work of our staff and their constant efforts exploring new ways of innovating in their teaching in order to improve the learning experiences of our students. This year, we are proud of our 17 MIE Experts (Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert) among our staff.

We are part of an exclusive global network of schools and educators who support the culture of learning, innovation and continuous improvement. The community offers space to connect and share ideas as school life is moving towards a new era of digitalization.

As Microsoft likes to put it:

  • Microsoft Showcase School program represents a global community of K-12 schools that harness digital transformation to create immersive and inclusive experiences that inspire lifelong learning and empower students to achieve more.
  • Showcase Schools create student-centered, immersive, and inclusive experiences that inspire lifelong learning, stimulating development of essential future-ready skills so students are empowered to achieve more.”

At SEK-Qatar, we live and breath this quote daily. We are committed to school-wide digital transformation to improve learning outcomes of our students and focus on future-ready skills.

From Grade 4, every student has their own laptop, as the device is being used in almost every single class. It is not only a single subject once or twice a week, It is the foundation for our every day teaching and learning. Leaders and educators in Showcase Schools thoughtfully consider the role of technology as they explore new ways to redesign learning spaces, restructure curriculum, reinvent pedagogy and reimagine what 21st Century leading and learning looks like across diverse contexts.

This year, we are becoming a 1:1 device school from Grade 1 to Grade 12. We are adding a dedicated device for each student in the classroom from grade 1 to grade 3. This will maximize the opportunities our students have to use the devices when needed because they will have a designated device for each of them with a personal profile. With the addition of digital ink (each device has a stylus) students will keep practicing their handwriting on their OneNotes (digital notebooks).

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we have become even more alert to inquire and learn about the digital potential in our school. Thanks to various Microsoft applications, remote learning has been made smooth, accessible and fun. This has increased our appreciation of the critical work educators and school leaders do to help every student achieve more.

As we start this academic year, we are excited to share our experiences with our community to finding innovative ways to equip our students with the tools needed for success inside and outside of the classroom.