Welcome Back

Welcome back to all G10 students here at IAT-DXB and a special shout out to G10-04 & G10-09. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday period with friends and family and I look forward to the coming days when we'll get back into speaking, writing and reading in English.

When we ended LC 1 G10 students had just received their brand new laptops but we never really got into our classroom routine with them so I want to take this time to establish the rules about using the laptops in English class. At no time are games or music allowed to be played on your laptops in class. You are to have your web browsers connected to those links that I give you to work on during class; no surfing or browsing on links that have nothing to do with English. In fact gentlemen, I do not want you connected to the school's internet access points at all. When you come to class your laptops should be closed, tops down, until I direct you to the site I want you to work on. We will usually start off connecting to a network I create in order to give you your class assignments for the day or to return your homework, but I will tell you what is the name of that network when you enter class.

The laptops are a great educational tool and they can be entertaining as well. We will use them for both but under the supervision of your teacher. If anyone is found using his laptop in class visiting websites he is not authorized to log onto I will ask him to surrender his laptop and he will have to get it from G10's counselor, Ayman Serry.

Another practice we will continue during this learning cycle is going to our school's library. A few times last learning cycle the noise level and behavior of some of the students was not appropriate for the library. When you are there you are to speak in a low voice, raise your hand to be recognized by the librarian, Ms. Margaret Smallpeice and choose books to read if she doesn't have an activity for you to do. Please respect the rules of the library and the people who work there. The same rules that apply in our classroom apply in the library too. Therefore do not take water bottles into the library, don't write on the tables and don't leave paper on the tables, chairs or floor. I took this picture of one of the students who was really reading a book he chose. He didn't know I was taking his picture and I didn't ask him to pose for it. He is a good example of how you should behave while in the library.

One last item. Don't forget,it is your responsibility to check out the G10 blog everyday for assignments and notes about class activity. Usually such items will be posted by 6pm and before 8pm and clear instructions about when the assignment is due will be included with the posts. Now that is all out of the way....let's get busy. God willing, see you in class!