The WellSpring Private School

Dear Parents,

As Semester 2 gets well under way, we are looking forward to Culture Day, one of our favorite events of the year! We love celebrating all the different cultures, customs and food represented by our WellSpring community. We’d love you to join us next Thursday! More information below.

We’ve had some LifePlus visitors from China this week: Mel McCutchen (Odyssey – student development), Karen Anderson (Director of Adult Learning), and Lauren Richards (Student Support) have been on campus giving input and support. Ms. Mel also helped host our Senior’s Departure Seminar yesterday.

In the busyness of the new semester, we are encouraged by the quality and diversity of learning around the school, excited for the field trips that take our students into new environments, and the opportunity to compete in sports, whether it’s fun field days or football tournaments.

Find this week’s highlights using the link at the end of the newsletter.

Culture Day

Culture Day is next Thursday, February 20th! It is one of the highlights of the year as we celebrate the many cultures represented at our school. We hope you make plans to join us. We would love for our whole school community to be involved.

Send your child to school dressed in something that represents their country/ethnicity.
Be planning to bring food from your country to share. Please join the WhatsApp Group for your region that was sent on WhatsApp. By joining the group, food and decorations can be coordinated for each region. All food will need to arrive by 10:00 AM so booths can be set up and ready to open at 11:00 AM.
Make plans to attend!
· Secondary Performances (Grade 6-12) will begin at 8:30 AM
· There will be a school-wide parade of flags at 9:45 AM on the turf football field
· EC/Elementary Performances (PK-Grade 5) will begin at 10 AM. After the EC/Elementary performance, parents are invited to tour the booths with their children.
School timings:
· Drop off – will begin at 7:30 AM
· Dismissal – will begin at 12:45 PM, buses will depart at 12:55 PM
Parking:
· Food Drop-off – Gate 12. If you are bringing in a large quantity of food you may temporarily park at Gate 12 to bring food in. Then please park at Gate 14.
· Parking – Gate 14. Please park at Gate 14 (in the areas that are not blocked off for dismissal) or in the gravel lot.

Haq Al Laila

We are looking forward to celebrating Haq Al Laila tomorrow! Students are welcome to come to school in traditional clothing.

Stakeholder Survey

Every year we conduct a survey that helps us measure objectives set by the MOE. We do this because we care about what parents believe about the school, and it helps us take action and support continuous school improvement. Please click on the link below. The survey should take about 5-7 minutes.

Survey

MAP testing

From February 5th - 18th, students in KG2 to grade 10 will take the Winter MAP Growth assessment. Parents we need your help to make sure students get at least 9-10 hours of sleep each night, eat a nutritious breakfast each morning, and arrive at school on time (by 7:50). These are all extremely important parts of being test ready each day next week.

A reminder that for grades 6-10, MAP test scores will affect their grade (scores don’t affect grades for KG2 to grade 5). More information can be found on Canvas.

10 Year T-shirt Day

We’re having another 10 Year T-shirt Day next Friday, 21st February! Students and staff can join in the celebration and wear their 10 Year t-shirts to school.

Shirts are 40 AED and available for purchase, along with other merchandise, from the Finance office.

Open Day

We’re hosting an Open Day on Saturday, February 22 from 10 – 2pm. This is a great opportunity for you to let friends and family know to come check out all WellSpring has to offer. There will be guided tours and plenty of opportunities for any questions and help with applying to WellSpring for the next 2025-26 academic year.

Please note this day is for new applicants. Information will go out for re-enrolling your current students.

Quality of the month:

Persistence

Each month we focus on one of our 9 Qualities for Life. February is the month of Persistence - overcoming obstacles in order to reach our goals.

We will keep trying even when things are difficult.
We will communicate until we are understood, and we understand.
We will take time to think and look for creative ways to solve a problem.

Our inspiration this month is Justin Levene.
Named in the top 10 most powerful and influential people of determination in the UK, he is a World and European Champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, winner of 29 Wheelchair titles across the globe, a motivational speaker and a disability rights advocate. To the delight of our students, Justin has visited WellSpring twice as part of the Ride for Unity team, sharing the importance of dignity, independence, and equal access for all.

Student Photography Workshop, March 3

Please note that the photography workshop is full. Thank you to all the interested students who signed up!

Calendar

Ramadan is approaching, please note our anticipated school hours from March 3rd:
Monday – Thursday: 9am - 1:30pm | Friday: 9am – 12pm.
Drop off will begin at 8:30am and classes will start at 9am.

In order to plan out the rest of the year well, here are some important dates for your calendar:

The final day of school will be June 24, with make-up exams from June 25-27.
And then looking further ahead, the first day of the 2025-26 school year will be Monday, August 25.

Save the dates!

February 14 – Haq Al Laila
February 20 – Culture Day
February 21 – 10 Year T-shirt Day
February 22 – Open Day
February 24-28 - Book Fair
March 3 – Ramadan reduced hours

Have a look at the highlights of the week here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

WellSpring Administration

WellSpring Weekly