369,000 Abu Dhabi students back to school

Over 369,000 public and private school students will start Term 2 on Sunday (tomorrow) after a three weeks mid-break holiday, announced the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC).

 

The Traffic and Patrols Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police announced its readiness to ensure traffic safety for students and road users during the second semester of the academic year. (Supplied)

In addition to the 130,428 students across 255 public schools in Abu Dhabi, and the 238,632 students in 186 private school, 5,663 students across Adult Education Centers and 4,833 home schooling students will resume their studies tomorrow.

The Traffic and Patrols Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police announced its readiness to ensure traffic safety for students and road users during the second semester of the academic year.

The directorate held a meeting to assess the preparations of traffic teams for the start of the second semester, under the chairmanship of Brigadier Khamis Ishaq Mohammed, Director of the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate.

Brigadier Mohammed stressed the keenness to ensure the safety of students and the smooth flow of traffic on all roads and near schools, through a comprehensive traffic plan; by which the directorate will increase the number of patrols and intensify traffic control on roads and in schools vicinity in order to reduce traffic congestion.

Parents

Brigadier Khamis Ishaq urged motorists and parents to adhere to traffic laws and speed limits; to reduce speed near schools; to observe the safe practice of placing children under 10-years old in the back seat of the car; to wear the seat belt to ensure safety; and to refrain from stopping vehicles randomly  near schools in order to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

School bus drivers

Brigadier Khamis Ishaq stressed the need for school bus drivers to abide by traffic laws and speeds limits.

He also urged  bus drivers to avoid taking off before making sure that all students have boarded or exited the bus and  to make sure  that they moved to a safe distance; not to use mobile phone while driving; to buckle up, and make sure that students have safely crossed the road to school or to their homes.

He pointed out that the plan to ensure traffic safety for students during the second semester includes continuous traffic awareness lectures for students, within the strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Education Council.

Brigadier Khamis Ishaq said: “The plans aim to inculcate a sense of responsibility in our students, and engage them in the efforts to provide traffic safety for all, as well as to enhance their traffic education culture.

“The plan also includes distribution of brochures and a set of awareness lectures about the standards and requirements for safe school transport.”

Brigadier Khamis Ishaq Mohammed wished a successful academic year for all students.

This measure falls within the strategic priority of the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters aimed at making roads safer, as part of the Directorate’s Traffic Safety Plan, in coordination with partners, namely the Department of Transport, the Abu Dhabi Education Council and Emirates Transport.

‘Year of Reading’

As part of the UAE declaring 2016 as the ‘Year of Reading’ to create a generation of book lovers and consolidate the country’s position as a global hub for knowledge, ADEC will be encouraging all schools across the Emirate to participate in different types of fun loving reading activities.

As a result of a successful year of innovation in 2015, ADEC is eager to carry on its mission to graduate a competent generation of scientists, researchers and innovators who will help fructify the future for the Emirate – which can only happen through strengthening a passion for reading, learning and knowledge seeking.

In the past, ADEC has taken part in and/or launched a number of initiatives related to reading, such as the annual "Abu Dhabi Reads Campaign" and the "Abu Dhabi International Book fair" with the aim of building a student’s self-confidence, motivation, imagination and creativity, while exposing them to different types of information.

With the intention of turning reading into a daily habit as part of a young student’s everyday routine, ADEC continues to add diverse books and genres to its existing Learning Resource Centers (LRC’s) across public schools.

The council introduced the different LRC’s in public schools since 2006 in order to encourage students to utilize different types of resources available that will help turn them into analytical learners and thinkers, while retaining a strong sense of national identity.

In order to enhance the love for reading, the centers are fully equipped with attractive colors, themes, appropriate reading area furnishings and stimulating/interactive activities such as puppet theater shows use for kindergarten and Cycle 1 students.

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