As-salamu alaykum Parents and Students,

I would like to welcome you to your online support site for learning. My name is Michael Yates and I am very excited to be your ELA and ADST teacher this year.

A little about myself, I am Canadian and have been teaching for 13 years in many different countries. They are South Korea (anyong haseyo), Canada (hello), United Arab Emirates (marhabban), Brunei (selamat pagi), and now beautiful Qatar (marhabban).

I have two children, Aaron (who goes to this school, so please be nice to him if you see him in the halls!) and Hana. We are a very traveled family, my wife is from the United Kingdom, my son was born in Abu Dhabi, and my daughter was born in Brunei Darussalam! My family and I are very grateful to be living in your beautiful country. It is amazing how many beautiful parks Doha has, our favourites are Al Bidda, Al Hitmi, Al Khor, and Aspire park. Even though Doha is a very large, modern metropolis there is always a beautiful park less than a 5 minute drive away!

As for hobbies, I have always loved technology and prior to becoming a teacher I worked in the Information Technology field. I also love learning and have almost completed my Master in Educational Technology from the University of British Columbia. On the more physical side, I enjoy going to the gym, I am also a blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (a martial art that is based around grappling). Here is a picture of me coaching in Malaysia!