The Junction

11 November 2021

A Note From Mr Green

‘Does Jean still remember me?’

Remembrance Day, also known as Armistice Day or sometimes Poppy Day, is commemorated every year on and around the 11th of November. Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday in November and this year falls on the 14th of November. In recent years, I have been reading more and more about the reasons why nations keep Remembrance Day going.

When we remind ourselves of past conflict we are remembering the sacrifice of those who have fallen and in doing so, shaped both this century and the last. It also reminds us we not only remember those who died a long time ago, but also those in recent memory. The UAE commemoration day does just this as it recognises those who have risked their lives for this country.

At this time of year, my mind wanders to my own relatives who fought during the Second World War. One grandfather died whilst piloting a Lancaster Bomber, whilst another was to survive the war and was able to tell me tales of his time during his service in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). I recently brought back a box of old documents, photographs and postcards from my grandfather’s time in the war. Reading through his service book I can clearly track his journey through the war. His involvement in the Tunisia Campaign, the invasion of Sicily and lastly the Italian Campaign. It was during this last one that he joined up with the 6th Armoured Division which was involved in the Battle for Monte Cassino. There were four battles at Monte Cassino between 17th January to 18th May 1944. At these battles in Italy, 250,000 troops fought together to free Rome. British soldiers fought alongside troops from all over the world. They were connected in their aims, their values and their moral responsibility. It is this feeling of collectiveness that still remains during remembrance events throughout the world and surely a reason to remember. There were severe casualties during this campaign, but it was a defining victory for the allies in their attempt to free Italy from Fascism and a reminder that there were many important theatres of war that were pivotal in shaping history.

My grandfather was twice mentioned in dispatches and was proud to have served his country. I still have his medals and records, but most telling was a photograph of my grandfather whilst in North Africa, on the back was a message to his wife: ‘Does Jean still remember me?’ This was my mother, who was only two years old at the time. For my grandfather, the act of remembering was important even then. For him, he was remembering who he was fighting for and that responsibility, for him and millions of others, would weigh heavy throughout the war.

It can, of course, be an upsetting and difficult topic to consider, but when we take the time to ponder what men, women and children in the past have lived through, the impact of these events on the lives of so many across the globe, and the devastating legacy of conflict not only should we not forget, but we have a responsibility to remember the past in order to hope for a better future.

Week in Review

EXPO Snippet

Expo Snippet: JAS' Favourite Pavilion Architecture

Thank you to everyone who voted and the results are in!

In 3rd place we have:

Known as The Hidden Treasure, the pavilion's facade has been designed by artist Rashid Rana: “The magic, perhaps, lies in the fact that each of these individual units, thousands of them, look similar but all of them are unique, fractionally different from each other in terms of the colour and size, and the viewer gets multiplicity views as they walk around it.”

Shahid Abdulla, Chief Architect of the Pakistan Pavilion said it was “one of the most exciting and challenging projects of my career, simply because I was expected to transform architecture into art.”

In 2nd place:

The glowing multi-colour sphere of the Russian Pavilion is designed by Sergei Enwerowitsch Tchoban who calls the project “Planet Russia”. The design was inspired by coloured lines of a flow of traffic and the notion of speed in dynamic cities around the world at night. The Russian Pavilion is 27 metres high. Inside there are two domes – one within the other, like the Russian nesting doll, Matryoshka.

And in 1st place….

Architecture studio WOHA has created a plant-filled, three-dimensional sustainable garden for the Singapore Pavilion. "The core concept for the Singapore Pavilion was to create an oasis in the desert, an escape from the hustle and bustle of the Expo, where visitors are instinctively drawn to nature," said WOHA director Phua Hong Wei. The pavilion does not require mains power or water. The roof canopy is topped with 517 solar panels that will provide 161 megawatt hours (Mwh) of power during the Expo, while a water desalination system will treat 40 cubic metres of water each day to irrigate the plants.

Science

Year 7 had a fantastic time in Science this week. They explored the properties of metals and non-metals.

Business

JAS Enterprise

The JAS entrepreneurs started making their fortunes this week! Having set up their business ventures and organised and promoted their products, it was finally time to start selling! The six teams got off to a good start and were selling stickers, bracelets, games console thumb pads, keyrings and photo booth posters to staff and students. Watch this space to find out which team wins and how much profit they make!

JAS Market Traders

The JAS investors have been busy this week learning about Warren Buffett and applying his investment strategies to their own portfolios. The virtual investment competition is heating up, well done to Ava the current leader with a profit of $27,625!!! Milos and Hammaad are in second place with a profit of $11,838.

Computer Science

Computers are found everywhere in our digital world and they enhance and support how we live our lives everyday.

In Computer Science this week, Year 7 students have been thinking about the different types of computers including input and output devices. They have identified that computers come in many different shapes and sizes and they have also thought about what computers will look like in the future.

Today there is an app for everything you can think of. Smartphone apps have taken over much of our daily lives including banking, online shopping, digital payments, social collaboration, healthcare and much more.

Our creative Year 8 students have been working exceptionally hard to come up with some innovative and brilliant ideas for new apps. They have been spending time creating prototypes and mock-ups of their ideas and it has been amazing to see them stand up and present their ideas in a professional and energetic way.

Scientist of the Month

PE

It has been a busy few weeks for students in KS4 PE with lots of different activities.

Year 10

The boys are currently on rugby learning their skills through small sides touch rugby games. They are developing tactics in their teams to outwit the opposition.

The girls are on alternate lessons between football and swimming. In their football lessons students have started with dribbling and running with the ball and putting these skills into adapted games. With secondary fixtures starting, including girls football, the students have enjoyed learning from the more experienced players to help enhance their skill level.

In the pool, students are working through a scheme of work developing water confidence and preparing for the end of term gala. Activities include a water entry challenge, seahorse challenge and a sinker pick up challenge. Students have thoroughly enjoyed the fun nature of the lessons.

Year 11

The boys have been playing football, helping the GCSE PE students prepare for their football moderation. They have been taking part in progressive drills to show their skills in isolation and in competitive situations.

Secondary ECAs

JAS Sport

A huge congratulations to all of the students that represented the school in football, cross country, and basketball fixtures this week. Our U13 boys' football team and U16 girls' basketball team had their debut matches with both teams putting in a strong performance in some highly competitive games. A special mention to Nina Allmark who finished 4th out of 70 girls in the U15 age category for cross country and to Charlie Ralph who finished 12th out of 89 competitors in the U15 boy's category.

Please keep an eye on our sports website for more up-and-coming fixtures over the next few weeks. JAS will also be competing in the rugby and netball DC 7's on Friday 26 November and Saturday 27 November. This will be for our A teams and more information will follow on schedules and timings in the coming weeks.

Secondary Cross Country

U12A Boys Football

U12B Boys Football

U12 Girls Football

U16 Boys Football

U16 Girls Football

U16 Boys Basketball

U16 Girls Basketball

U14 Boys Football

U13 Boys Football

U13 Girls Football

Dubai Fitness Challenge

What a fantastic second week of the Jebel Ali School around the world challenge! We have completed a massive 17,614 kms overall in only 12 days! It has been incredible to see students from year 1 right through to year 12, along with a large cohort of teachers walking and running around the field throughout the days to help us reach the 40,075 km needed. Mrs Robinson, Mr Green and Mr Lyon completed a number of laps to help with the total.

We are grateful to our parents and local community who are also submitting their weekly totals. They have contributed 3,238 km which is fantastic! Please keep sending in your weekly totals on the form here.

Watch the video to see how far around the world we have travelled so far. 22,461 km to go in 18 days, we can do it! Please keep tagging @jebelalischoolofficial with your videos and pictures.

Reveal wk 2 v3

Wellbeing Census

As part of a five-year initiative from the Dubai Government and The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) all schools across Dubai are being asked to take part in the final year of the Student Wellbeing Census. The KHDA knows that supporting and improving the happiness and quality of life of our students will help them achieve their full potential, and together with the schools of Dubai, they seek to improve the well-being of all students. Further information about the census is available here.

The census asks about:

Social / emotional wellbeing and happiness
School relationships and engagement
Physical health, lifestyle, after school activities

The census is not a test and there are no right or wrong answers. Student responses will be kept confidential and no one at the school or KHDA will be able to use the results to identify individuals.

The census requires all students from Years 5 - 12 to complete a 30 - 45 minute online survey. Students will complete the survey over a two-week period commencing Sunday 14 November 2021. If you do not wish for your child to participate in the census then please email secondarypastoral@jebelalischool.org by Thursday 11 November 2021.

Research has shown that motivation to learn and achieve academic success is directly linked to higher levels of well-being. Happiness is at the heart of all we do here at Jebel Ali School, so we look forward to hearing what our students have to say.

Ben Parnell

Assistant Headteacher - Care & Wellbeing (Secondary)

Book Review

The Wizards of Once

By Cressida Cowell

The Wizards of Once is an outstanding series written by Cressida Cowell (the author who wrote ‘How to Train Your Dragon’) and is all about two kinds of people: the Wizards and the Warriors. The books are all about a boy wizard and a girl warrior who join forces to stop the witches who are evil, bird-like people with sharp beaks and claws and poisonous, emerald-green blood.

The story takes place many, many, many years ago in a wood that used to cover the whole of the United Kingdom. While making friends along the way, the wizard boy and the warrior girl go on adventures through the woods, mountains, ditches, castles and fortresses of their small world to overcome the terrible creatures that everyone thought to be extinct after accidentally releasing their king. The witches are coming…

I would rate these books an eight-point-five out of ten, and say that anyone from seven years of age would love and enjoy reading them.

By William 7GS

Student Council Notice

The Secondary School Student Council would like to gauge your opinions regarding the JAS Vision Mission Values (the VMV) because we are looking for ways to embed them within our student body. We want to make sure that each and every member of the student body knows what the VMV is and how it is working within our school community.

We would really appreciate it if parents could help and encourage students to complete the questionnaire so that we can see what you think of the VMV so far.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The JAS Student Council

Looking Ahead

Virtual Parent Teacher Consultations

Please see the dates for the upcoming virtual Parent Teacher Consultations. Information on how to book appointments will be emailed to parents in due course.

Year 8 Tuesday 16 November

Year 10 Wednesday 24 November

Year 12 Monday 29 November

Year 9 Tuesday 7 December

Ceramics Club is cancelled on Tuesday 16 November.

Facilities Update

Prayer Rooms

Secondary Student Access Times:

12:40pm – 1:25pm (Sun- Wed secondary break time)

1.55pm – 2.15pm (Thurs)

Students and staff cannot use these facilities together. Please wear a face mask inside and bring any garments and prayer mats from home and do not leave in the facility. Prayer rooms will be locked at the end of the school day as per times indicated for safeguarding purposes. Access times will be reviewed periodically and any changes made accordingly.

Lost Property

All student property should be labelled with the child's name, year and class.

Lost property boxes have been placed outside each of the reception areas. Any items found will be placed in the nearest box. Valuables will be held in a safe place by Security and will be handed over directly to the owner. If you have any queries regarding lost property, please email our Security team Jas.security@securitas.ae for further assistance.

We have a lot of unclaimed items which are not labelled. All items will be placed outside in the courtyard on tables near the Primary wooden gate at drop off and pick up on Sunday 14 November 2021. Please take the opportunity to reclaim any items. Anything unclaimed will be donated by the end of the week.

Secondary Library

We will be collecting pre-loved novels for our secondary school library over the next few weeks. If you have any novels gathering dust on your bookshelves and would like to gift them to us, please drop them in one of the boxes by the secondary school reception from Sunday 14 November, or give them to the librarian, Mrs Free, or to Mrs Horsham. You can also bring them along to the Festive Fayre, where we will have a book collection location.

Whole School: 50th UAE National Day and Upcoming Events

Tuesday 30 November - UAE National Day Celebrations

We would like to celebrate the 50th UAE National Day by asking staff and students to come to school dressed in UAE National dress or in colours associated with the National flag – red, green, black and white; no rugby or football type shirts please.

Both Primary and Secondary students will take part in UAE National Day themed lessons throughout the day. In addition, Secondary students and staff will have the option to buy UAE-themed food at Tuck Shop cafeteria who will be providing a ‘National Day Special’ in addition to their regular menu.

On the day a minute’s silence will be observed at 11:30am, along with the lowering of the flag in recognition of the UAE martyrs, as we also celebrate UAE Commemoration Day.

Upcoming Public Holiday

As per our KHDA approved Academic Calendar we anticipate the following upcoming public holidays *subject to KHDA confirmation

Wednesday 1 December 2021* - Commemoration day
Thursday 2 December 2021* - UAE National Day

Thursday 9 December 2021 - Festive Theme Day / Non-uniform Day / Early finish

All students (both Primary and Secondary) are encouraged to take part in our Festive Theme Day on the last day of term and are welcome to come to school wearing Festive Jumpers or red and green themed outfits.

Parents are requested not to send in any foods or giveaways for their class during any of these celebrations for health and safety/COVID-19 reasons.

There will be a staggered early finish on the last day of term as follows;

MOVEMBER at JAS

Throughout the month of November, we will be supporting Shanab and we are asking parents and older students to join us. This is a very similar event to Movember. Participants will need to be clean-shaven on the first day of November and then remain unshaven until 25 November when the facial hair can be cut and designed as you wish (the handlebar is always a favourite!). During the Festive Fayre on 25 November, we will announce a student, staff and parent winner of the best designed facial hair. Whilst this is a bit of fun and will bring the community together, the whole purpose of the event is to raise awareness of the major health issues that men face. For further information and how to donate to Shanab, a Friends of Cancer charity please click here. Shanab will provide a box of fake moustaches for those that can not grow facial hair and children can also create facial hair masks that they can wear in school on 25 November.

In order for us to track participants please sign up here.

Ben Horton

Assistant Headteacher

PTA News

We are excited to invite you to our whole school community Festive Fayre on Thursday 25 November 2021 4.00pm - 8.00pm.

This will be an outdoor event led by our PTA held in our school grounds. We are incredibly grateful to have such dedicated members of our JAS family giving up their spare time to put together what I know will be a spectacular event.

There will be an array of activities including: a snow park, grotto, inflatable slides, bouncy castle, zorb balls, carousel, skating, maze, food trucks, activities, market vendors/stalls and much, much more.

COVID-19 safety protocols will of course be in place in order to keep everyone safe during this exciting event. On the day we will be operating a cashless system for activities and you will be able to purchase tokens in advance or from various stands on the day. Money raised during the event will be invested back into our school and your children, so please do spend generously.

This is a very special community event for us; the first time we have been able to come together as a JAS community for some time. Please support our amazing PTA members and school staff who make these sorts of events possible and look out for more information over the coming weeks.

We look forward to welcoming you all soon with some festive cheer!

Article of Interest

The Importance of ‘Switching Off’

All humans have an inbuilt ‘fight or flight’ response to potential danger, a throwback to our prehistoric ancestors and an essential stress response enabling us to react – the ultimate survival tool.

Our body reacts to potential danger or stress by releasing hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine. These hormones and chemicals respond by enabling us to run faster by diverting blood to muscles and can even shut down unnecessary bodily functions, such as digestion. This is a very useful response to have in a situation of danger but can result in problems if it occurs too often or during inappropriate situations.

Today, our feelings of stress can be triggered by anything from thinking we’re going to be late for a class to paying a bill. However, some stress can be useful as it can help us to perform better but if we are unable to control when it occurs then it can become harmful.

Being over-stressed and having continually increased levels of cortisol in your body will raise blood glucose which is known to increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Weight gain and sleeping disorders are also linked to stress and chronic levels of stress can contribute to mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Here are some ways you can ‘switch off’

When you’re spending time with friends or your partner then switch your phone off – just ten to fifteen minutes of real face to face connection will help your brain to de-stress.
Get the blood going and sweat flowing – make time to get outside and reconnect with the environment and your body. You won’t have time to check your phone while you’re walking, riding a bike or gardening.
Regulate your sleep - see if you are able to put your phone away a couple of hours before you head to bed. This will avoid your brain from being overstimulated.

Jenna Brownlee

Teacher of History

Helpful Hints

Business and Economics

Know your syllabus

Your syllabus is a guide to exactly what you will be learning during the two year course. Make sure you have access to a copy of the syllabus. Use it to tick off topics you have studied and look at what’s coming next. Your syllabus is invaluable in making sure you understand each topic. You will not be examined on anything that is not in the syllabus.

Learn the key terms

Business and Economics contain many key terms which will be brand new to you. Keep a working guide of key terms and their definitions which you can add to and refer back to as needed. Understanding the key term is essential to understanding the concept.

Create revision notes

Don’t wait until the end of the two year course to make revision notes. Make a short revision guide for each new topic when you finish studying it in class. Your revision guide could be a mind map, a page of notes, a poster or just a few bullet points that summarise the important parts of the topic.

Talk about it

Talk about what you’re learning in class! Business and Economics are dynamic subjects and we are surrounded by examples of them in action in our everyday lives. Ask the people in your life about their experiences in business or their opinion of Brexit.

Read around the subject

Business and Economics are everywhere and having a bank of real examples will undoubtedly gain you extra marks in the examination and further your understanding. Read the newspapers online look at The Economist. Find relevant articles and show your teacher (bonus house points). Beat the teacher and read up on a future topic before you’ve even learned it in class.

Make it fun

Everyone learns in different ways, find out how Business and Economics can be fun for you. It could be watching The Apprentice or Dragons Den! It could be making posters for different topics. It could be looking at all the real life examples of marketing while shopping in Dubai!

Useful websites for Business and Economics:

https://www.tutor2u.net/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

https://www.senecalearning.com/

Staff Profile

Elizabeth Sweet-Jones - Teacher of Business Studies and Economics and Head of Social Studies

Mrs Sweet-Jones dreamed of becoming a teacher from a very young age (as a child, she even lined up her toys to complete handwriting practice and gave gold stars to those with the neatest handwriting!). After completing a BEd (Hons) at the University of the West of England, she spent two years teaching in Devon, before becoming a Head of Department and moved to London for a further two years.

In 1998, an old school friend persuaded Mrs Sweet-Jones that she would love living in Dubai – coincidentally a job became available at The English College and the rest is history.

Mrs Sweet-Jones teaches Business, Economics and Computer Science at JAS and is also a parent to two boys in Years 10 and 11. Having moved to Jebel Ali Village in 2004 to become part of the JAS community, Mrs Sweet-Jones feels truly blessed to now be part of the JAS family and has loved the first half-term.

Outside of the classroom, Mrs Sweet-Jones likes to keep fit and spends a lot of time participating in circuit classes. Mrs Sweet-Jones enjoys skiing, the cinema and fabulous restaurants Dubai has to offer.

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