Primary Arabic and Islamic Education

Leila Assad (Head of Primary Arabic and Islamic Education)

After graduating from in Lebanon with a degree in Arabic language, Leila enjoyed eight years of teaching in her home country before moving to Australia to further develop her teaching expertise and to help train teachers of Arabic as a foreign language. Leila's has a wealth of experience in teaching Arabic and Islamic Studies to children of all ages across the primary age range and in her spare time, enjoys reading, sporting activities and swimming.

Reem Arroub

Reem read for her degree in Arabic Literature at Damascus University, where she also completed her Higher Diploma in Arabic Language Studies followed by her Diploma in Education. Her extensive experience teaching in the UAE includes service at the Australian International School in Sharjah, EIS and more recently at Raffles. Reem writes short stories and has authored a book for teaching Arabic.

Nawal Attar

Nawal holds a Diploma in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language and has been teaching in the UAE for ten years at the Gulf School, the School of Creative Science and then at Repton School before joining JBS in 2010. She teaches Primary Arabic A and Islamic Education to our young learners here at JBS, having joined us in September 2010. She enjoys using a wide range of modern teaching aids and motivational strategies to captivate the interest of her students.

Ahmed Morsy

Ahmed holds a BA in Arabic Language and Islamic Studies from Tanta University in Egypt, and has wide experience teaching in international schools, most recently at Dubai International Academy, from where he joined JBS in September 2011. Ahmed teaches Arabic B and Islamic Studies throughout the primary school and up to Grade 6.

Primary French Co-ordinator

Valerie Labedan

Valerie is a graduate of the University of Paul Valery, Montpellier, in the South of France. Here she specialised in English and French Language and Literature and also earned her Master’s degree in English Literature and English and French translation. After a period as a French teaching assistante in Oregon, USA, she taught French for three years in Lycée Joffres, in Montpellier. Valerie then moved to Dubai, where she taught French for six years before joining JBS in September 2010. Previous responsibilities included curriculum development and implementation, evaluating and monitoring the quality of teaching within the French department.

Primary PE Co-ordinator

Liza-Marie de Jager

Liza-Marie graduated in 2000 from FCE Wellington, South Africa as a specialist KG teacher. She worked in her home country for over three years before moving to the UK where she taught upper primary children in an independent school in Maidstone, Kent. Liza-Marie then returned to South Africa to continue her studies and in 2006, completed Intermediate Phase Grades 4-7 specialist training in Play Therapy and Special Needs. Liza-Marie joined JBS in September 2010 from Al Ittihad Private School in Dubai where she had been Head of Sports for three years.

Primary Music Co-ordinator

Katherine Dugdale

Kathy was teaching music to primary children for seventeen years across a range of Primary Schools in London before she joined JBS in September 2010. She graduated from Trinity College of Music with a Licenciate to teach music and a Diploma in violin playing. After freelance teaching in Marylebone for seven years, she took on the post as music teacher and coordinator at a busy, multi-cultural primary school in North London and taught curriculum music to Nursery through to Grade 6.