Mesaieed school honours top students at annual Gala

Mesaieed International School (MIS) recently held various events to mark the end of the academic year and to recognize the excellent performance of its students in various areas. An educational institution owned by Qatar Petroleum (QP) and which follows British curriculum, the MIS events included an 'End-of-Year Singing Celebration' involving nursery and reception pupils on July 2, a prize-giving ceremony for primary students on July 3, and another prize- giving ceremony for secondary students on July 4. Headmaster of MIS Kevin John Massey said, "These three events not only enabled the students to come together and celebrate the end of another academic year but also provided them with an opportunity to showcase their talents and to be honoured for their exemplary achievements during the year." The 'End-of-Year Singing Celebration' featured a total of 145 MIS pupils singing a variety of songs based on a jungle theme. The pupils, who were between the ages of 3-5, wore colourful costumes representing jungle animals. Each of the six classes performed their own song and all the children also sang several songs together. The event concluded with the distribution of graduation certificates to the nursery and reception pupils. The prize-giving ceremony for primary students followed the next day. Awards were presented to outstanding students in Years 1-6. The ceremony also featured musical and dance performances by students from each year level. Among these were a cello performance, an Irish dance, a pirate song presentation, and a Mamma Mia rendition. The third event organized by MIS was the prize-giving ceremony for secondary students. Among the awards given out to students in Years 7-12 were the Academic Excellence Awards, Sporting Excellence Awards, School Citizen Awards, the Leonardo Da Vinci Awards for Creativity, Academic Endeavour Awards, and the Holy Qur'an Recital Competition Awards. Waqar Un-nisa Khan received the Outstanding Scholar Award. The ceremony also featured choir performances, a solo piano performance, a French Show, and other musical performances. Along with parents, teachers and students, the events held by MIS were also attended by a number of senior QP officials, including Eid Mubarak Al Muhannadi, Operations Manager-Gas Operations; Maliq Omer Al-Dafea, Manager of Municipal and Facilities Services at Mesaieed Industrial City (MIC); Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Thani Al-Thani Asst. Manager for Personnel Administration; Mr. Yousuf Mohammed Buhindi, Head of Personnel Administration; Firas Farid Al-Refai, Head of Facilities; and Barry Albert Shelmerdine, Acting Fire Chief and Divisional Fire Officer (Operations). MIS serves the educational needs of the children of QP employees residing in Mesaieed Industrial City as well as those from the corporation’s subsidiaries and joint ventures that are based in the area. The school currently has almost 1,000 students between the ages of 3-17 and coming from over 40 countries worldwide. MIS opened a new secondary campus in January this year, and its foundation and primary campuses will be further expanded in September 2012 to enable the school to accept a much greater number of students.