Emirati Sana: bring one classroom situation to the session

Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority announced the Emirati Sana programme on 19 October. Its first phase runs at community majalis in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain until 18 November. Teachers have an Arabic-and-English training track; a separate track serves Cycle 2 and 3 students. The announcement connects Emirati values with everyday behaviour in school.

If your school is arranging participation, start with the practical details: your assigned session, venue, language and arrival arrangements. Ask the school coordinator or organiser how attendance is confirmed. The public announcement does not provide an open booking route or establish that anyone can arrive without an invitation.

Then choose one ordinary classroom situation to think about. Perhaps a new pupil is joining a group, a visitor is entering the room, or several children are speaking at once. Write a short, anonymous description of what happens and what you would like to understand better. Leave names and identifiable pupil details out of your notes.

Use a page with three spaces: situation, question and idea to try. A focused question might be how to make a welcome more thoughtful, or how to help a group listen without turning the exchange into another lecture. These are suggested preparation prompts from SIBRIS, not an official worksheet or a prescribed part of the course.

During the session, distinguish the facilitator’s explanation from your own interpretation. Note the words or examples you want to clarify, especially when translating them for a different classroom context. Ask how a principle can be demonstrated in an ordinary interaction. A useful example is easier to revisit than a page of abstract nouns.

Afterwards, choose one small classroom routine to discuss with colleagues and adapt through your school’s usual process. Record what you plan to do, when you will try it and what you will observe. Keep the emphasis on your teaching practice; do not turn a short exercise into a score for a child’s cultural identity.

At a later check-in, ask what changed in the interaction and what still felt awkward. A routine may need a clearer explanation, more time or a different example. The aim of this reflection sheet is to carry a practical question into the room and a considered action back out. The notebook should have a second life after the session.

Cover: an original AI-generated conceptual illustration of educators preparing notes in an imagined courtyard. It does not show an Emirati Sana session, a participating venue, official teaching materials or actual attendees.