ABU DHABI // The final touches are being made to Al Dhafra Private School's new campus in Mohammed bin Zayed City ahead of the first day of classes on September 9.
Built for 2,000 pupils at a cost of Dh100 million, the 24,000-square-metre campus has more than 80 classrooms with interactive boards and large windows to let in natural light.
The facility is a far cry from the old villa campus, where the children were crammed into classrooms no bigger than 20 sq m.
At the new school, kindergarten classrooms will be on the ground level and higher grades on the top two floors, in line with guidelines issued by Abu Dhabi Education Council.
There are separate wings for boys and girls, featuring seven science labs and five computer labs.
The school's 1,030 pupils will be able to practise indoor and outdoor sports at a rooftop gymnasium. There is also a swimming pool and sports courts.
Dr George Nader, director general of Al Dhafra Private Schools, said the campus was designed to provide ample space for children to move about easily, and CCTV cameras had been installed in corridors to monitor safety.
The school's principal, Daniel Bokelman, said pupils would experience new teaching methods as well as a new campus.
"The objective is to build leadership capacity, so that we are capable of delivering the highest levels of international standards in teaching and learning across the curriculum," he said.
aahmed@thenational.ae
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Big%20Ape%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20LucasArts%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PC%2C%20PlayStation%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
