The Junction

18 March 2022

A Note From Mr Green

Good Sport

Sports Days conjure up special memories for me. I loved Sports Day as a child. I loved the atmosphere, I loved to compete, I loved to run and, of course, it meant a day on the field and not in the classroom! Winning was great but, thinking back, the triumphs were made sweeter because of the failures along the way. I still have the same philosophy when I watch sport today. We might lose a few but when a win comes along, it feels special. Sport teaches us this and it’s why it can be so easily compared to what we do in life, be it in the classroom, the assessment or job interview. It was, therefore, fabulous to experience the JAS Sports Day on Tuesday of this week.

There was a sea of blue in school and Damac Hills that will live long in the memory. For the whole day, our students competed in numerous athletic events, dodge ball and ultimate frisbee across the day and it truly encapsulated what JAS is all about – yes there was excellence in abundance and the level of support, encouragement and enthusiastic participation was outstanding and an absolute joy to watch.

Students applied a lot of the techniques and skills they have learnt in recent weeks and this was apparent by the volume of new school records that were broken on the day. The excellence achieved and the passion students displayed were a model of sportsmanship and we are, without doubt, proud of their efforts and performance!

Some teachers were also excited to take up the challenge in the Relay Race with great energy and a perhaps overzealous competitive zeal!

The day was made successful by the efforts and perseverance of our staff, in particular, our PE department, led by Ms Channon. Thank you to all competitors, supporters and staff involved in making it such a tremendous occasion.

The excitement does not stop here. All eyes now look to next week and the eagerly awaited Secondary School Performance of Bugsy Malone. I for one can't wait to see ‘Fat Sam’s Grand Slam’ in all its splurging glory.

Week in Review

EXPO Snippet

Food Glorious Food

From fine dining to street food, Expo 2020 boasts more than 200 cuisines and is a must-visit for every foodie!

Most of the large pavilions offer their own country’s traditional food options, giving you the opportunity to taste food from all over the world without leaving Dubai. Whether it’s croissants and pastries from the France Pavilion, ice-cream from Poland, chocolate waffles from Belgium or fine dining by Michelin star Chef Rohit Ghai at Kutir in the Vietnam Pavilion there is food to please even the fussiest eater!

However be warned, the cost of eating at Expo can leave a hole in your wallet. For those wanting a financially friendlier option Al Baik, Dominos Pizza, Al Reef Bakery, Talabat Kitchen and Ravis are all available and the Zoom shops at the Visitor Centres offer sandwiches, snacks and drinks at the usual Dubai prices.

As you roam between the pavilions, Talabat robots zoom around delivering food; a service that is unique to Expo and one which we are keen to try (once we have worked out how to do it)!

Water is available throughout Expo with many different options: you can take your own bottle and fill it up for free at one of the water stations provided, buy an Aquafina water bottle and fill up for free at one of the seven Aquafina or Pepsico stations across Expo, buy a can of water from the many pop up stands, Zoom shops or pavilions priced between 5dhs and 6dhs depending where you buy it from or find one of the canned water vending machines where the same sized can will cost you 2.5dhs!

For more food options at Expo check out the Where to eat at Expo webpage.

Fiona Cameron

Primary Deputy Headteacher

Maths

Pi Day

The annual holiday celebrating the Mathematical constant Pi arrived on Monday 14 March.

Pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is what is known as an irrational number. As an irrational number, its decimal representation never ends, and it never repeats. The first three digits, 3.14 is a good approximation, which is why March 14 came to be the date that we celebrate this mathematical marvel.

People celebrate Pi Day in a variety of ways; most of them include eating pie (as Pi and pie are homophones) and discussing the relevance of Pi. At Jebel Ali School, we celebrated “all things pi-related” from a tutor time Pi-day dingbat quiz, Pi-day Mathematical challenge and Pi-day 3.14 miles run. The main event is the Inter-House Pi Recital competition, which is hotly contested each year.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the competition was Sophie 8ST, reciting an impressive 141 digits of Pi. Well done Sophie!

A level Art Trip to Art Dubai

On Sunday 13 March, the five A level Art students were invited to attend Art Dubai and were able to get a guided tour of the exhibition. A highlight of the tour was the Digital exhibition, which contained not only digital art but virtual art, the students were able to appreciate how the art of the future could look.

We have been going "ceramics crazy" at JAS with our Year 7 and 8 Art students. Year 7 are using clay to create textural relief tiles based on zoomed-in insects, which we photographed in class. Year 8 are constructing their zoomorphic pots based on the ceramic designs of Pablo Picasso.

Our Photoshop ECA students have been busy Photoshopping Mr. Green into unusual and amusing situations.

Thank you to Mr. Green for being such a good sport!

PE

Alexandra 7AT represented Jebel Ali School at the Dubai School Games Rhythmic Gymnastics competition on Saturday 5 March. Alex has aspirations to one day represent Great Britain as a Rhythmic Gymnast and has performed well in all of her competitions to date.

Rhythmic Gymnastics sees gymnasts perform choreographed movements with musical accompaniment using hand apparatus such as rope, hoop, ball, clubs and a ribbon. In Alex’s latest competition she performed with the clubs and the hoops finishing in 1st place overall in the U13 competition! Well done Alex!

Alex’s biggest achievement to date was when she won the Gold medal in the 2019 International Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition in Tashkent. Like many of our students, Alex is incredibly dedicated to her sport, training and competing regularly. She started participating in gymnastics six years ago and attends the Aram Gymnastics club.

Keep up the fantastic work Alex!

Secondary Sports Day

Highlights of Secondary Sports Day Video

Tuesday saw the return of JAS Secondary Sports Day and it was BIGGER and BETTER than ever. Students had the opportunity to take part in a variety of events and it was truly excellent to see all students fully immersing themselves in the day.

Throughout the morning students had the choice to take part in traditional athletics and potted events during their athletics festival. Students were awarded a house point for every event they took part in and awarded extra points for their performance in each event. A gold, silver and bronze medal were up for the taking in the following events; Long Jump, Shot Put, Discus, Javelin, High Jump, 800m, 75, Rowing and Speed Stack. Our fantastic medals have been made by the wonderful DT department and it was great to see so many students on the podium.

Students also participated in an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament at Damac Hills and a dodgeball tournament at school. Students thoroughly enjoyed these events and it was fantastic to see everyone earning points for their house. All activities were highly competitive, with students demonstrating their athletic skills alongside their teamwork abilities, all while having fun and maintaining the Sports Day spirit. Like any sporting event, there has to be a winner, and after some outstanding competition the results were as follows;

Ultimate Frisbee Tournament

Y7 - Air

Y8 - Water

Y9 - Earth

Y10/11/12 - Fire

Overall - Earth

Dodgeball Tournament

Y7 - Earth

Y8 - Earth

Y9 - Water

Y10/11/12 - Air

Overall - Earth

As we moved into the afternoon we hosted 75m sprint finals with some record breaking performances, followed by our 4 x 100m relays.

A special mention goes out to all of the students who broke historical records at JAS secondary school and to those students who have set the first ever record for our U16 and U19 age categories.

Our highlight of the day was seeing the whole JAS community come together for the first time in two years! It was amazing to see all of the students, staff and parents all together again. We can't wait for next year already!

And finally, we need to congratulate our overall house winners of Sports Day 2022... EARTH HOUSE!

Book Review for Older Readers

Robinson Crusoe

By Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe is a classic novel, enjoyed by many in the past, but I could not find many people who have read it. It dates back to the 1700s and is set in 1641 where Robinson Kruetzaner decides to go to sea. In doing so, he defies his parents. On his first trip, he is trapped on an island in Africa. On his return, he has business on a tropical island from which he gets really rich. When he attempts to visit his island the worst happens and his ship is wrecked in a hurricane. Stuck alone on a tropical island, what will he do? This is a challenging, but interesting read.

By Roman 7GS

If you are a keen reader and would like to write a review of a novel you have read, please submit an entry of around 150 words, including who you would recommend the novel for and we will feature it in The Junction!

We will be accepting reviews from year 5 and year 6 students and you can either email them to Mrs Horsham lhorsham@jebelalischool.org or Mrs Free vfree@jebelalischool.org.

Happy reading!

Online Safety

JAS Nut-Free Policy

Over the last few days it has been noted that some students are bringing in nut related foods arriving in the form of lunches and snacks . We wanted to remind all of our parents that we are a completely nut-free school. We maintain this in order to protect both the children and staff with severe allergies to all kinds of nuts.

Please help us in providing a nut-free school and assisting those parents who have children who may have a life threatening reaction.

Thank you.

Looking Ahead

Monday 21 March Down Syndrome Awareness Day
Tuesday 22 March Virtual Year 9 Coffee Morning
Tuesday 22 March - Thursday 24 March Secondary Production
Friday 25 March End of Term 2

JAS Production Team

The JAS Production team is pleased to announce that tickets for the Secondary Production of 'Bugsy Malone' are now on sale!

Tickets can be purchased before school and lunchtimes (for students only) from the dedicated ticket desk outside the main reception.

Please note these are the only times you can purchase your tickets and first come, first served, so make sure you get yours as soon as possible! Tickets are AED40 - please be sure to bring the exact cash amount.

We look forward to seeing you at our FIRST EVER Secondary School Production.

Article of Interest

This week we saw the close of the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, where over 550 athletes represented 49 countries across 78 events that make up the 6 disciplines; para alpine skiing, wheelchair curling, para biathlon, para hockey, para cross country skiing and para snowboard. Through hosting the Winter Games, Beijing has become the world's first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Games.

The Winter Paralympics were held over five venues in three competition zones of central Beijing. Two of the venues were legacy venues from the Summer Games which were held in Beijing in 2008. Among the 49 countries being represented, there were 3 countries who were making their debut at Beijing 2022; Israel, Azerbaijan and Puerto Rico.

The official motto of Beijing 2022 was "Together for a Shared Future". The aim was to represent the power of the Games to overcome global challenges as a community, with a shared future for humankind. The chosen words reflect the necessity for the world to work together towards a 'better tomorrow' especially given the difficulties faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The words demonstrate the need for unity and a collective effort, as well as embodying the core values and vision of the Olympic Movement. The motto specifically considered the key values of the Paralympic Games, in particular the role they play in contributing to a more inclusive society.

It is difficult not to be inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and seeing the results of years of hard work, commitment, and determination in the highest level of elite competition serves to remind us what can be achieved through hard work. The development of the Paralympic Games over time has been extraordinary, and it is truly brilliant that sport consistently demonstrates the inclusivity that all members of society are worthy of.

Inclusivity is something that can be difficult to achieve, it requires compassionate thought and a real commitment from all who are trying to achieve it. It requires an open-mindedness that can be difficult, the ability to see things from outside of the box and resilience to always strive to be, and do, better.

Despite the challenges we face when trying to be inclusive, it is something that, I believe, we do very well at JAS. We have an ECA programme that allows all students to develop their passions across a wide variety of activities, whether they be sporting, arts based or academic passions. The inclusivity of our community was clearly demonstrated during our Sports Day on Tuesday. The day had been planned to ensure that all students had opportunities to participate and experience success, whether that be in a traditional athletics event, one of our potted events or through one of the sports tournaments.

Numerous school records fell, which was truly remarkable, but, just as impressive was the participation, effort and determination shown by all students as they took on their challenges. Students across all year groups showed resilience, perseverance and teamwork as they all worked towards a common goal. All students demonstrated the values that make JAS so special, and while it is easy to be inspired by the Paralympic and Olympic games, it is important that we take inspiration from ourselves, our students and our community, I was certainly inspired on Tuesday.

Pippa Bullock

Head of Year 9

Helpful Hints

How to succeed in Design & Technology Projects

The DT curriculum at JAS is designed to build students’ appreciation of the products around them, their materials knowledge, their problem solving ability and their critical and creative thinking skills. DT is not just about making things, though we create some amazing projects in Secondary, our curriculum rewards students for their effort in the whole design process, not just the final outcome.

Here are some tips for success in the four main areas of any Design & Technology project:

Investigate

Always try to create your product for a real client or customer, speak to them, find out their needs and evidence this in your design brief.
When looking at existing examples, don’t just rely on images from google, do some primary research by actually holding, measuring and testing products yourself, in person. This will give the best understanding.
Always try to make innovative products to help someone else. Don’t be afraid of trying something new or different from everyone else.

Design

When sketching ideas, always use pencils, especially for colouring in. This allows you to shade and add extra details.
Communicate your design ideas clearly through extra sketches and short annotations, always try to ‘show us’ not ‘tell us’.
Use your experience and research to think ahead and try to explain how the different parts of your product would be made.

Make

Safety is always key in practical sessions, listen carefully to instructions, wear the correct gear and always ask if you’re not sure.
Be patient and careful when making projects and using tools - “measure twice, cut once!”.
The best projects always include a range of materials, try to challenge yourself by adding new material or process to your DT work each term.

Evaluate

Honesty is important here, if it went wrong, tell us! Your reflection on your project is one of the most valuable parts.
Always try to get an outside opinion on your project, Use your client for feedback to see what they would improve.
Always include improvements you could make and explain how you could make them.

If you stick to the list above, you should have no problem creating successful projects in DT!

Simon Kuznetsov

Head of DT

Staff Profile

Lucy Horsham - Teacher of English

I have been a qualified English teacher for thirteen years; this being my eighth year teaching in the UAE. I studied English and Media Studies at the University of Sussex and found that I had a skill for supporting others with learning. Following a brief break from education where I lived and worked in Glasgow for a year, I completed a PGCE in Secondary English at the University of Worcester.

I spent five years teaching in a lovely school in Warwickshire, until my thirst and desire for travel and new experiences brought me to Dubai. I live here with my husband, and my cheeky three-year-old, who teaches me new things every day.

My recreational time used to be spent scuba diving, where I would spend many an hour with my head under water searching for critters and marveling at the world from this perspective. My spare time now involves creating games and singing strange songs to my boy, as well as informing him of the literary devices used by the author in The Snail and the Whale and The Gruffalo. I try to show him as much of the world as possible, even at his young age; getting him to listen to different languages, encouraging him to taste as many different foods as I can (he ate a kimchi pancake in South Korea at eight months old, and absolutely loves duck!) and I intend to continue doing so as he grows. I feel privileged to have two jobs now: teacher and mother. Although, I have come to realise that these roles are not so independent of one another.

My role at Jebel Ali School thus far has been an incredibly happy one. I have taken on the role of Student Leadership and House Coordinator, and I am looking forward to spending more time working with, and listening to, our wonderful students. I am very excited that our A Level English Literature course has proved popular with students, and that we can continue to foster a love of reading and appreciation of literature among young people. I feel very lucky to be part of such a lovely, friendly and happy school.

Page updated

Report abuse