Abu Dhabi: Want to be a school teacher?
It has now come to the attention of many that aspiring teachers who seek employment in one of the schools in Abu Dhabi would have to also posses a great ability in thus able to teach sustainability to students since it has already been established as a major point of concern in terms of hiring in as far some Capital institutions are concerned.
Undoubtedly the commitment is best witnessed in the case of Gems Founders School in Abu Dhabi situated in Masdar City which is a member of The Alliance for Sustainable Schools which is the first school in the Gulf region to implement a net-zero strategy.
The goals of the GFA school include cutting down the CO2 emissions of the school by about 1,154 tonnes through the installation of net-zero energy and employing energy-efficient technologies and practices.
Sustainnovation’
Albertha Huyser, Principal, CEO Gems Founders School- Masdar City stated: “When we first opened the school, I went and interviewed all our teachers who are almost 60 in total. Of course, each teacher had a question on sustainability and innovation and how they would embed those in their lessons. It was teachers who were able to fit in this mindset who were recruited.”
“From day one, we made it a priority that everybody, the chairperson the entire admin team in as much the leadership does the work was consistent with the focus being on ‘Sustainnovation’ – which is the combination of the two words of ‘sustainability’ and ‘innovation’ which is both our logo and our motto. All our teachers regardless of the subject they teach, instill in the students the concepts of sustainability, innovation and environmental care, in every lesson taught,” she went further
As a Memorandum of Understanding was reached with TASS, the head sprinkled it with the school community. How is it working on consolidating all the important measures for the carbon footprint reduction internally.
The Principal also went ahead to stress that the school has developed and through practice evidenced a new approach towards education where an active model of environmental responsibility has been put in place in preparation of future leaders for a greener and sustainable world.
She said: “Outside of beach clean-up activities and other actions done to maintain the cleanliness of Abu Dhabi, we for example, also put into consideration the types of materials and the packaging utilized for food (in school cafeterias). For Example, our students actively work within the domain of takeaway packaging as part of the effort to align our objectives with our sustainability objectives."
Plastic is completely off the table so no plastic water bottles are used in the school. All over the campus, there are water stations and everybody comes with their reusable water bottles which are all 100% recyclable. Talking about the uniforms, we partner with the Threads team, which is the school uniform shop and go together to create shirts, making sure that the materials used are recyclable, and this goes on to show our dedication to sustainability,” she said.
Solar panels at school
The solar photovoltaic system on the other hand is expected to supply 3.1 million kWh which is equal to the usage of the energy and also providing ample shade to the building and its surrounding. This meets energy needs while making the entire experience more comfortable and efficient at the same time.
The integration of such innovative building methods as enhanced thermal precast panels will tremendously lessen the heat requirements of the air conditioning system, which in turn reduces energy usage and promotes a green educational facility.
The design of the openings in the building ensures that the extreme southern areas receive the least electric lighting and temperature control while the opposite northern side has the most openings which help in maintaining and controlling the temperature. This kind of design is very beneficial in energy efficiency and provision of a conducive environment for learning for the children.
“Regarding the building’s design we were in great consultation with the Masdar City so the certificate was issued even before the building was opened, Of course, we have a very active parent community, including our parents, and they come once a week, she added, doing workshops about healthy nutrition for our students, body management and also about the environment.” Huyser said.
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