The Mirdiff area will witness the opening of its own Dar Al Marefa in September 2008. Literally meaning ‘house of knowledge’ in Arabic, Dar Al Marefa, an initiative of Al Ghurair Investments, will be the cornerstone of a broader program aiming to enhance the standards of education offered to the growing UAE community. With the child being the focal point of attention, the school opens its elementary section from KG1 to Grade 7, and aims at providing a healthy learning environment for all its young students. Delivering its curriculum in both Arabic and English, it will ensure adequate use and exposure to both languages.
“At Dar Al Marefa, our aim is to provide our children with an environment that fosters learning and enables them to explore themselves and the world around them through a holistic approach to learning and self exploration. Dar Al Marefa will adopt the International Baccalaureate curriculum, and will treat Arabic as a medium of education along with the English. This will ensure that our students have adequate exposure to communicating in Arabic instead of it being merely a subject“, commented Ibrahim Al Ghurair, board member.
“We intend to achieve the ambitious goals that we set to ourselves by engaging world-class teachers with a high level of proficiency and pedagogical skill, and by using the latest in tools and learning methods. It therefore was only evidence that we adopt the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP) to provide the very best development for our students, on the level of their skills, values and attitudes” he also commented.
An ‘education for life’ program, the PYP is designed for students aged from 3 to 12 years. It is an international teaching method, broken down by discipline, which is designed to foster all aspects of a child’s development. The Primary Years Program places value not only on academic welfare, but also lays great importance on the social, physical, emotional and cultural learning of every child. The program supports the child’s struggle to gain understanding of the world and to learn how to function comfortably within it, moving from not knowing to knowing, identifying what is real and what is not, acknowledging what is appropriate and what is not. To do this, the child must integrate a great deal of information and apply this accumulation of knowledge in a cohesive and effective way. Through structured units that cover global themes and skill acquisition exercises, instruction is delivered using an inquiry-based approach, as inquiry encourages children to bring their previous knowledge and understanding to actively engage in exploring new areas of knowledge. Being at the basis of instruction, “inquiry involves the synthesis, analysis and manipulation of knowledge”, whether through play for younger children or through more formally structured learning in the primary years.
Through Dar Al Marefa School, the children of UAE will also get a unique opportunity to receive a bilingual Arabic and English education that emphasizes on the respect of local culture and values.
Highly qualified teaching staff will challenge students to be active learners, while educational programs and classroom practices will promote team-working and inquiry-based learning, in order to fully engage students and help them reach their full potential.
All students will benefit from stimulating and challenging curriculum programs in the major areas of study, including Languages, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social and Environmental Studies, Physical Education and Health as well as the Arts.
Outside their studies, students at Dar Al Marefa will have every opportunity to explore self-expression in the form of sport, music, drama and much more. The modern facilities and services will be regularly upgraded and maintained as the school develops, including classrooms equipped with interactive whiteboards, science labs, art room, library, IT Center, music room, and Health Center.
Recreational and fitness activities will also include a Nutrition Center, providing nutritional snacks carefully selected to ensure a healthy diet, Swimming pool for primary school students, a Multi-purpose hall for indoor sports and school events, Outdoor sports fields, Kindergarten fully equipped Playground and a separate Elementary Playground.
Mr. Deeb Abdullah, Principal of Dar Al Marefa School noted: “Choosing the right school for your child is crucial to their future growth. We take pride in our Arabic heritage, tradition and values and use these as a sound platform to absorb knowledge and wisdom from around the world, giving our children the knowledge and confidence that will enrich the world they live in. Dar Al Marefa is truly unique and I look forward to taking this journey together with our students and their parents”.
He added “Dar Al Marefa has developed a set of units to be taught each year according to each year’s level. It is intended that the units build upon the knowledge gained in the previous school year. We believe that together with subject-specific curriculum, the program of inquiry provides a comprehensive, well-balanced curriculum that requires children to reflect on their roles and responsibilities and to participate fully in the learning process. The concepts help the teacher to make the classroom a stimulating and engaging place, where the child’s point of view, supported by knowledge, skill, reflection and understanding is both valued and made useful”.
“We will foster our own culture, traditions and values while absorbing knowledge and understanding from around the globe, embracing the best of all worlds and enriching our students’ lives. We believe in learning systems that are creative and pioneering, placing the student at the center of the educational process, and we are committed to providing a superlative quality of education and seek to be recognized as an International Baccalaureate (IB) school” Mr. Deeb concluded.
