Abu Dhabi pupils returned to classrooms on Sunday after an extended winter break owing to a rise in coronavirus cases.
The number of children resuming in-person lessons was lower than usual because some parents took up the option of continuing distance learning.
Many private schools in the Emirates are having planned half-term breaks and their pupils will return to classrooms in the next few days or early next week.
Schools were deep-cleaned and social distancing measures put in place before pupils could resume face-to-face lessons.
Pupils were due to go back to school in the first week of January but their return was delayed twice amid concern about rising infection rates.
Learners encountered a different problem on Sunday, when fog engulfed the capital and caused school bus journeys to be delayed.
Rishikesh Padegaonkar, principal of Bright Riders School in Mohamed Bin Zayed City, said Grade 12 pupils would be practising laboratory work, with some free time thrown in to help them interact with one another and relax.
“They will not be at their desks throughout the day. Pupils will participate in activities, indoor games, yoga and aerobic sessions,” he said.
Mr Padegaonkar said 15 per cent of 3,689 pupils enrolled at the school had returned for in-person classes.
For pupils in years seven to nine in Abu Dhabi, it will be their first day in school since March.
“There are children coming back after 11 months of distance learning and we have to ensure they mentally strong and able,” Mr Padegaonkar said.
“We are excited to have the children back on campus.
“We are trying to explain to them that we need them back at school.”
Teachers queued up to greet each child as they walked in to the building.
Aniket Tuli, 17, is an Indian pupil in the 12th grade at the school. He said he was looking forward to meeting friends after studying at home since early December.
“It’s our last year in school and there are so many things we wanted to do. We have missed being at school and interacting with friends,” he said.
He said pupils would at last be able to practise laboratory work before their final exams.
“There was no way we could do it online. We were missing the classroom experience,” he said.
“The feeling of loneliness sets in when you’re studying at home. We really looked forward to being back.
“Now that we are back we can clear our misconceptions and get clarifications easily from our teachers.”
Mr Tuli said he felt the use of videos during online learning helped boost pupils’ interest.
Dakshesh Gupta, 17, who is in the 12th grade, was happy to be back in the classroom.
“I am looking forward to seeing my friends and teachers again,” he said.
“Being in class meant we could study with our friends and motivate each other. When we were studying online, the interaction was limited.
“Now that we would be in the classroom, revising our syllabus would be easier and faster.”
K George Mathew, principal of Gems United Indian School, said 493 of the 3,300 pupils enrolled would return this week.
Mr Mathew said the dense fog in Abu Dhabi had hindered pupils’ return to school on time.
“On their first day back, we want to make sure that pupils have fun as well as lessons,” Mr Mathew said.
“We are welcoming them and have activities planned by teachers. There will be wellness sessions which will have elements of art and music.”
The school follows a learning model in which pupils attend school on alternate days.
Mr Mathew said pupils were excited to see one another and did not want to stay at home.
Nithin Krishnan, a 15-year-old 10th grader at Gems United Indian School, said he was excited to be back at school after studying at home since March.
"I have not been able to see my friends in almost a year. Walking back into the school was an exhilarating feeling," he said.
"During online learning, I felt there was a missing element as I could not meet friends."
Rohit Shibu, a 10-year-old Indian pupil at the school, shared the enthusiasm for in-person lessons.
"I spoke with my friends and it was so much fun to see them after a long time," he said.
"I prefer being in school to online learning because it's really important for me to talk with teachers and understand things clearly."
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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AWARDS
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RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
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