The Junction

Psychology

“Confident Me” Workshop - Peer Coaching

The Year 12 Peer Coaches started running the first of five sessions with Year 7 students today. The “Confident Me” workshop is a concept devised by Dove, a hygiene brand owned by the multinational consumer goods company, Unilever that is dedicated to instilling a positive relationship with the way people see themselves. This week’s session was entitled “Appearance Ideals” and students were encouraged to think about where unrealistic appearance ideals come from, how they have changed throughout history and to also appreciate what makes them unique and special. At the end of the session, Year 7 students were asked to compliment each other or list what qualities they admire about themselves and seemed to have enjoyed being taught by our Year 12 leaders. The Peer Coaches were buzzing with excitement with how well the sessions had gone and are looking forward to the next one next week, which will focus on how the media influences our perception of beauty.

JAS Sport

JAS Secondary Sport 

Please see a reminder below of any key documents you need for any information regarding JAS Sport. 

• JAS Sport Information Booklet 

• Team Kit Guidelines 

• JAS Sports Website 

• Kukri Online Shop

Secondary Aquathlon

On Friday 28th April, JAS took a team of 22 athletes to compete in the DASSA Secondary Aquathlon at the Hamdan Sports Centre. We had athletes enter into both the U13 and U15 competitions and they all completed a 150m swim before transitioning into a 1.5km run. 

We were incredibly proud of all of the students who represented JAS in this event for giving it their all and representing our school brilliantly. A special mention goes to Charlie in Year 10 who finished third in the U15 Boys Development race. Well done, Charlie!

Water Polo

The U15 boys and U13 girls had their debut fixtures this week against Hartland and DESC. Both teams came away with fantastic results winning both games. A special mention goes to Evine in Year 7 saving 3 shots from DESC in the second half to secure the win. 

Basketball

It has been a quiet week for basketball games due to the badminton tournaments. However, our U12 girls have come away with their first win against EIS Meadows with a special mention going to Gabby who had a fantastic game in attack and defence. Our U13 girls have also been on a winning streak this week coming away with another win on the basketball court winning 18-13 to DBS JP. Congratulations to Camille who received player of the match. A huge thank you to Hangtime Basketball for all of their support with our ECA programme. 

Cricket

Our U13 boys had a tough game this week against JESS but came away showing lots of JAS spirit and scoring 41 runs. The U15 boys had an incredibly tight fixture against JESS on Thursday, after fielding extremely well, and keeping our opposition to 73 runs, we were confident going into bat. Unfortunately, an equally great innings from the JESS bowlers meant it came down to the very last ball. Unable to get the boundary that we needed, the score finished JAS 70 - 73 JESS, regardless of the outcome it was a great match, and good to see the boys out there competing.

Rounders

Our U13 teams competed against each other this week in a closely contested match whilst our U15 squads returned to DIA for another round of games against Sunmarke, DIA, and Southview! All of our matches are building up to the very exciting tournaments happening at The Sevens in a couple of weeks! Watch this space!

Badminton

This week we hosted the DASSA Badminton Championships welcoming nearly 300 players over the course of three days to come and battle it out for the championship. Badminton is developing here at JAS and it’s so good to be able to field a full team across all age groups in secondary school. Jebel Ali pupils were fantastic and this extends beyond the players to the student leaders who helped run the entire event. 

For a lot of our U13’s squad, this was their first experience of competitive badminton and it was amazing to see them compete against some of the best in Dubai. A big well done to our boys doubles (Rueben and Dylan) and girls doubles (Maddie and Arabella) finishing in 5th place!

Both our mixed doubles (Giolanta and Dani) and boys singles (Cade) players finishing 5th lays a great foundation for the coming years, as they gain more experience against some excellent players. The U15s was perhaps the most competitive age group across the board so to get results like this is extremely impressive.

As expected the U19’s team came up with some very strong opposition, but in true JAS fashion, worked relentlessly to overcome them. A big congratulations to Tessa and Klara, our girl's doubles partnership who finished in second place. This combined with the successes of the rest of the team meant we finished 4th overall in the team championships.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the student leaders this week; Inaaya (Y12), Ben (Y12), Joe (Y10), Lauren (Y10), Kate (Y12), Thomas (Y12), Sonny (Y12), Yanis (Y12), Lily (Year 11), Miona (Year 8), Varya (Year 8) and Dana (Year 12). Without your support, these tournaments would not have been possible. 

What’s On - WC 15 May 

Helpful Hints

Beat the Morning Bug

Back into the full swing of early get ups, morning and afternoon ECAs, and a sudden increase in temperature, there's no doubt that we are all starting to feel the exhaustion of a full school day.  

Here are some helpful hints for how to beat the bug of feeling fatigued so that you can thrive at school.  And it's all about a healthy morning and bedtime routine. 

1. Hydrate yourself. 

As soon as you wake up, drink a glass of water. Scientific research suggests that when your body doesn't have enough water it can experience several negative side effects, including everything from mood and concentration issues, to an increase in headaches and a sluggish metabolism. Beyond this, physical performance, alertness, and energy take a big hit as well, especially in the morning when you've gone six to eight hours without rehydrating. So kick start your day with a glass of water - not only will it fuel your body, but it will give you that boost of energy to start your day.

2. Ditch the device. 

Checking your phone as soon as you wake up primes your brain for distraction. If you see or read something negative first thing in the morning, it can trigger your stress response and put you on edge for the rest of the day. Before going to bed, put your phone on aeroplane mode no later than 9 pm. Your alarm will still work in this setting, but you won't be greeted with messages and notifications as soon as you wake up. Alternatively, turn your phone off or charge it in another room to remove the temptation entirely. 

3. Don't snooze the alarm. 

Jumping out of bed as soon as your alarm sounds is a challenge for the most enthusiastic morning person, but as much as you crave those extra 10 or 20 minutes in bed, snoozing the alarm clock will actually make you feel more foggy during the day and less likely to fall asleep at night. 

When your alarm goes off in the morning, you are usually at the end of your REM (rapid eye movement) cycle where your brain is highly active and you experience intense dreams. This cycle of sleep is crucial in helping you to restore and feel focused for the next day. If you snooze your alarm, you fall back into the REM cycle and get woken up in the middle of it, rather than at the end. Train yourself to wake up and get out of bed as soon as the alarm sounds to avoid feeling foggy and disorientated. 

4. Prepare the night before. 

What you do the night before school matters as much as what you do in the morning. When you plan out your next day in the evening, you set yourself up for deeper relaxation and better sleep. To achieve greater productivity during your school day, pack your bag the night before, lay out your uniform, get all of your homework done and, write a small to-do list of what you want to achieve the next day. By planning your next day, it will be much easier for you to prioritise what's important, feel more alert and more motivated to get the most out of your lessons and activities during the school day.  

Mrs E Berry

Head of English

Looking Ahead