Dear Ash Mount Community,
I hope you have all had a wonderful week.
As we begin our June blog series, we turn our attention to a theme that sits at the very heart of Ash Mount: Local Heart, Global Mind.
This idea is woven throughout our vision to help children learn with purpose, live with compassion, and lead with courage. It also aligns closely with the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate, which seeks to develop internationally minded young people who work towards creating a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
Being internationally minded begins with understanding where we are, who we are, and the community we belong to.
Living in Dubai gives our children extraordinary opportunities. They are growing up in one of the most dynamic, diverse, and forward thinking cities in the world. They are surrounded by innovation, culture, entrepreneurship, sustainability initiatives, and people from every corner of the globe. At Ash Mount, we want children to understand and appreciate the country they call home while also developing curiosity about the wider world.
This week, we have been continuing our work on the school site and one of the most exciting conversations has been around the landscaping and planting plans. We are now beginning to finalise the planting schemes across the campus and selecting the plants that will help bring our outdoor spaces to life.
These discussions are about much more than simply choosing plants. We are thinking carefully about how outdoor spaces can support wellbeing, biodiversity, sustainability, outdoor learning, and a sense of connection to the UAE environment. We want our students to learn both inside and outside the classroom, making use of every part of the campus as a learning opportunity.
I would also like to say a huge thank you to members of our growing community who have already been sharing their expertise and ideas with us. We have received great advice on suitable planting, local cycling and bike routes, and recommendations for books that could help shape our library collection.
This is exactly what a community school should feel like. We are fortunate to have families with such diverse experiences and expertise, and we are delighted that so many are already helping us build the school.
If you are an enrolled family, I hope you are enjoying the monthly newsletters and taking the opportunity to contribute through the QR codes included throughout. The feedback, suggestions, and ideas we receive are incredibly valuable and help us continue to refine and strengthen what we are creating together.
Over the coming weeks, we will explore what Local Heart, Global Mind looks like in practice, including how children develop international mindedness, how we connect learning to the UAE and the wider world, and how meaningful experiences help children develop a sense of belonging, responsibility, and purpose.
We are also very much looking forward to our upcoming community events. These opportunities to bring families together continue to be one of the highlights of building Ash Mount.
Please remember to sign up using the links that have been shared in our recent emails.
Families attending will also have the opportunity to help us with an exciting part of school life -tasting and providing feedback on some of the meals that Master Cook are proposing for our opening menus. I suspect this may prove to be one of our most popular consultation activities so far!
Thank you, as always, for your support, enthusiasm, and partnership.
We look forward to seeing many of you very soon.
Warm wishes,
Abigail Fishbourne
Founding Principal
Ash Mount School
