{"id":26526,"date":"2026-10-27T07:19:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T07:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/?p=26526"},"modified":"2026-10-27T07:23:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T07:23:35","slug":"art-sports-and-activities-in-riyadh-schools-why-they-matter-from-kindergarten-to-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/blog\/art-sports-and-activities-in-riyadh-schools-why-they-matter-from-kindergarten-to-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Art, Sports and Activities in Riyadh Schools: Why They Matter from Kindergarten to High School"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"26526\" class=\"elementor elementor-26526\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-49761297 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"49761297\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;jet_parallax_layout_list&quot;:[]}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-30f638e9 exad-sticky-section-no exad-glass-effect-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"30f638e9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Across large studies, students who take part in organized activities tend to concentrate better, behave better and engage more with school, and none of the major studies found that this time hurts their grades. At <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/owis\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One World International School (OWIS) Riyadh<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, these activities make up a program called ASA: Art, Sports and Activities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>How does ASA work at OWIS Riyadh?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From kindergarten to high school, ASA at OWIS Riyadh evolves with each student, moving from discovery and play to commitment and leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Kindergarten<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/owis\/kindergarten\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kindergarten<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the year runs in three ASA sessions of 7 to 10 weeks each, with new options every session. Children move between sport, dance, drama and early robotics, building coordination, confidence and friendships without any pressure to specialize.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Primary Grades<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Students keep the three-session rotation, with activities that build thinking alongside fun. In Challenge Me, for example, students tackle board games and team puzzles that develop reasoning, communication and fair play. Others choose sport, art or robotics in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/owis\/zeroone-hub-at-owis\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ZeroOne <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hub, the school&#8217;s STEM makerspace.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Middle School<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/owis\/middle-school\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">middle school<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ASA becomes part of the weekly timetable, running in the first period on Sundays and Mondays. STEM ASA sets real design challenges, and students begin to lead. They take part in the National Junior Honor Society, debate global issues at Model UN, and pitch ideas in Shark Tank-style business competitions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>High School<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/owis\/high-school\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High school <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">students commit to one activity for a full term, giving them time to build genuine skill. Many plan and lead sessions, mentor younger students, and help organize school events. This kind of sustained involvement is what universities look for.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What activities are part of ASA?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Students choose from five main areas, each with dedicated spaces on campus:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Coding and robotics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the ZeroOne Hub<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sports<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including basketball, badminton, table tennis and athletics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Visual and performing arts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the Performing Arts Studio, Art Room, Music Room and Black Box theater<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Culinary studies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, focused on cooking and nutrition<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Photography<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the Nikon Lab, with workshops led by professionals<br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice gains meaning when there&#8217;s an audience or a challenge at the end of it. OWIS Riyadh hosts:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ru&#8217;ya:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> an inter-school innovation exhibition and conference, where students from schools across Riyadh present robotics, AI and sustainability projects to judges, industry experts and university professors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>M.A.D. Festival (Music, Art and Dance):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> an inter-school event where students perform and compete.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Model UN and Shark Tank-style competitions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which build research, debate and public speaking skills.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Science and Business Fairs, Talent Shows, concerts, TEDx and Sports Day<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, giving every student a chance to perform.<br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why it matters for families in Riyadh<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Education in Saudi Arabia is evolving quickly, and Vision 2030 places strong value on sport, culture and the arts as part of everyday life. For families comparing international schools in Riyadh, the question is no longer whether a school offers extracurricular activities, but whether those activities are structured to build real skills over time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To learn more about us: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/owis\/inquiry\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inquire Now<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Across large studies, students who take part in organized activities tend to concentrate better, behave better and engage more with school, and none of the major studies found that this time hurts their grades. At One World International School (OWIS) Riyadh, these activities make up a program called ASA: Art, Sports and Activities.\u00a0 How does [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":26527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Art, Sports and Activities in Riyadh Schools: Why They Matter from Kindergarten to High School - One World International School - Saudi Arabia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/owis.org\/sa\/blog\/art-sports-and-activities-in-riyadh-schools-why-they-matter-from-kindergarten-to-high-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Art, Sports and Activities in Riyadh Schools: Why They Matter from Kindergarten to High School - One World International School - Saudi Arabia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Across large studies, students who take part in organized activities tend to concentrate better, behave better and engage more with school, and none of the major studies found that this time hurts their grades. 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