November and December were eventful months at JBS and as we approached the winter break, the tempo of school and community life got even more intense! On November 29 we celebrated the 40^th National Day of the UAE in great style in the impressive secondary gymnasium, which was completely transformed for the event. Afterwards parents, friends and students enjoyed a variety of National Day activities in our lovely grounds.

Meanwhile, secondary staff had been attending ongoing training to develop further the listening skills that will enable them to support and counsel students, and students in Grade 6 - 10 attended their first JBS "MYP camps" in which they had an opportunity to develop personal and leadership skills, and to think about what being an MYP student at our school really means.

On December 18 we hosted our first al fresco Winter Market and Seasonal Concert, with our multi-national primary choirs singing in English, French, Spanish and Russian entertaining families and friends in a magical twilight concert.

We were able to raise in the region of AED 15,000 to support the work of the M/V Flying Angel, which helps seafarers when they are in port on board the big tankers and container ships, Fujairah by taking out communication facilities so that they can keep in touch with their families at home, even though they cannot come ashore. On Thursday December 15 three of our students accompanied by Ms. Williams went to help with this work and visited ships 14km off shore - a memorable day for them!

To round off 2011, our secondary students under the direction of Ms. Godel and Mr. Were staged a superb Winter Concert and MYP Art Exhibition. Just wonderful!

I would like to thank all the parents, children and staff who worked so hard in our incredible international community to bring 2011 to such a memorable close.

Andrew Homden, Principal