Mid Term in the beginning of the term?

Welcome to The Scruffy Porcupine!! 

Can you believe that we have been in Dubai for ten months already?!   Might have taken 10 months but FINALLY we managed to get going with our family blog :-)

Here are a couple of photos of the factory that burnt down near the school on Wednesday, 12 October 2011. As a precautionary measure the school was evacuated due to some toxic chemicals in the air. One thing that we are grateful for is that the Civil Defence here does not take any chances, no matter how small the risk.

Still smouldering after 6 days

As you can imagine, the kids are soooo happy that the school has once again been cancelled by the Department of Civil Defence as they want to make 100% sure the air is safe around the school.

An extract of the letter posted on the website by the principal, Mrs Hollington:

I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all parents and friends of the school for their patience and understanding during this difficult period. I want to take the time to explain the problems the school has faced during this last week and I will also do my best to outline our current position.

Dubai’s Civil Defence Authority (CDA) instructed the school to evacuate during the morning of Wednesday, 12^th October because of concerns over air quality due to a fire in Dubai Investment Park. Tests were done on the quality of the air by the CDA and in the interests of safety all children and staff were sent home.

The situation was monitored by the CDA over the weekend and we were informed by them that it was safe to open the school again on Sunday, 16^th October. However, the area began to experience problems again yesterday evening, tests were undertaken, and the CDA informed us that the level of air quality had once again begun to deteriorate. The school is therefore closed today, Tuesday, 18^thOctober and we have just been informed, will now re-open on Sunday October 23^rd.

We will endeavour to keep you updated on this website as we receive further instruction from the CDA.

We will be attending the session tomorrow morning, so let's hope that the school will be able to re-open on Sunday!!