The Junction

23 September 2021

A Note From Mr Green

Run A Head

‘Run and Become’, ‘LonDone’, ‘Scrambled Legs’, ‘Sole to Sole’. There are a number of names and slogans associated with running which use humour to convey a sense of the challenges associated with getting up, getting your trainers on and getting out to run. These names and slogans also represent that great sense of achievement that runners feel; whether it’s a sense of purpose in just getting “Up and Running”, a sense of immense achievement in completing the London Marathon and getting London Done or “LonDone”, or the self-fulfilment of feeling at one with the world after your run.

Wednesday is the JAS morning run and the sense of community and pleasure is palpable from every individual who takes part. Running in Dubai can feel like a joy and a chore, the levels of humidity, even at 6.30 in the morning, can feel like you’re running through a sauna. Nonetheless, the opportunity to be out in the air, with fellow pupils, creating a sense of personal achievement, is one which emphasises the great community spirit and joy, so evident in Jebel Ali School.

Wednesday saw the morning of Jebel Ali’s own motivational slogan as I joined the JAS runners with the aim of participating in this great activity, getting to know some of the runners and motivating. Our slogan was “Run A Head”, establishing a sense of competition and aiming for a personal best as well as offering an opportunity for students and staff to see me enjoying one of my favourite activities: running.

The morning was sparkling with sunshine and the humidity was moderate (sweaty). A range of students enjoyed their run together, some finding it very difficult, some working towards a personal best, some enjoying the camaraderie of a run in the sun and an opportunity to “Run A Head”. The faces of those who live here in the local Damac Hills community were beaming with smiles as they waved hello to all the students and staff who took part. Seeing the snake of blue JAS PE shirts weaving through the tracks and greenery was a thing to behold and yes, I was at the back to be able to see this wonderful sight. The opportunity to talk with our fabulous students, be it sport, fitness or the intricacies of looking after an injured horse, as I did on Wednesday was a highlight of the week for me personally. As a community of runners, I think we all felt a great sense of fulfilment at the end of our activity if perhaps also a sense of “Scrambled Legs”.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Reminder

As you can appreciate from above, we are delighted that our extra-curricular activities before and after school have been able to resume. However, we have noticed that some parents are sending siblings, who are not registered for activities, to school early in the morning. Please be aware there is no supervision for students before 7.20 am and therefore we ask you to ensure that your child does not arrive at school before this time. Similarly, in the afternoons, siblings who are not registered for activities should be collected promptly at the end of the school day and should not be waiting on site. Many thanks for your continued support.

Week in Review

History

Year 8 spent a lesson creating a poem, rap or song about History using three keywords - "Enquiry, Evidence and Explain". All of the students were so excited to perform their work, even when they were joining from home via google classroom. The creativity was outstanding, with one group even composing their own backing track to accompany their performance!

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Geography

Formation of precipitation

To improve their recall of the stages involved in the formation of rain, Year 8 Geography classes have been playing hopscotch in lessons. The correct tiles are jumbled in with other vocabulary that is linked to rainfall and precipitation and the tiles are scrambled before each attempt to get the best time. Guess wrong and you go again!

The students have also been making their own anagrams of rainfall terminology for homework and you can test your own ability to unscramble them below or try the slightly tricky ‘dingbat’ below and see if you can name the term.

Psychology

The Peer Counselling Training Programme has begun! Students in Year 12 volunteered to take part in the 13 week training which aims to prepare them to counsel younger students in the secondary school. Throughout the course, they will learn and practise vital skills such as active listening, empathy, confidentiality and other important strategies and procedures.

Here you can see the Peer Counsellors taking part in a listening activity. In pairs, they were required to try out various seating positions and behaviours to illustrate how to and not to act when listening to a client. They found it very frustrating to speak to someone who was bored, disinterested or disengaged and couldn't converse properly when sitting side by side (socially distanced). The optimum position decided on was a 12 o'clock/4 o'clock position as it was least confronting but most comfortable. They also realised the value of eye contact and active listening.

The Year 10 GCSE Psychology students had fun with Skittles this week as they put into practice all they had learned about sampling methods in psychological research. They were required to categorise the skittles by colour and calculate percentages before manipulating them according to sampling techniques (random, opportunity, systematic and stratified sampling). This provided a practical and visual interpretation of how representative each sampling method is and consolidated their understanding of what can be a complicated concept to grasp.

Business

The Year 9 JAS Enterprise club is off to a great start. Students have formed their businesses and begun the research and development process. Watch this space for some incredible new product launches from keyrings to bracelets!

Arabic Calligraphy

The Arabic calligraphy students really enjoyed choosing their favourite type of Khatt during their ECA time this week.

Secondary Production 2022

Get ready for gangsters, showgirls and a whole lotta splurgin’ as we proudly announce our March 2022 production....

Bugsy Malone

This week, students have put themselves under the spotlight for a role in the production through dancing, singing and acting auditions. We have been blown away by the quality of performance seen in our students and congratulate every student who stepped up and auditioned! We simply cannot wait to get to work with our wonderful cast.

The cast list and rehearsal schedule will be released next week and will be accessible to students via Google Classroom. Watch this space for regular updates on our production progress!

See you at Fat Sam’s Grand Slam 2022!

Production Tech Crew

This week, the Production Tech Crew learnt how to properly coil cables in preparation for our school show in March. Looking after the equipment we use not only helps prolong its use but also aids us in deploying the equipment in a safe and efficient manner. As you can see, the results look great and bodes well for our future use of specialised equipment.

Tech Crew applications will close on 30 September 2021 so make sure you sign up on SOCS to be a part of the team.

Art

In Year 9, the students are examining natural forms. We have started with some observational drawings and will continue to experiment with different media including collage and print-making.

GCSE Pottery and Photography

In the ceramics ECA on a Tuesday afternoon, the students have been learning the first construction methods by making pinch pot egg cups. These are being fired in our amazing new kiln and then the students will get to glaze them. This week, the students learnt the coil pot method whilst making bowls.

GCSE Photography students have been working on their coursework in their Wednesday afternoon ECA.

PE

It has been fantastic to be back out on the poolside and see the students back in the water. This week, we have been focusing on fun and engaging activities to develop water confidence and water safety skills.

We are excited to introduce another new sport to our curriculum. This week, all of our students have been learning to play handball or tchoukball.

Sports

Please note there is still an opportunity to sign up to clubs until September 30. If you would like to join a sports club please add yourself to the register or the waiting list and we will do our best to accommodate all students.

This week, we are extremely excited to have started our very own girls' rugby club. This takes place every Monday morning at 6:45 am. All abilities are welcome. You may also have seen our secondary cross country club has moved over to the DAMAC park. There are still spaces if you would like to join.

This week, Year 7 students have been heading to the top of the school leaderboard trying to better themselves in recognising musical rhythmic symbols. This fun game has tested pupils' ability to name key rhythms used in music-making. Rhythm is one of the key musical elements for all students throughout key stage 3. Can you guess what the others are? Dr Pat Smith may be able to help you.

Music Lessons at JAS

A reminder that our fabulous peripatetic music tutors are starting next week at school, so if you have not already done so, head to https://sites.google.com/jebelalischool.org/musiclessons to apply for instrumental (including vocal) lessons.

Music ECAs are still open to all who want to join and it would be great to see more faces at rehearsals.

The main whole school music ensemble rehearsals are:

JAS Singers - Monday lunchtime

JAS Strings - Tuesday before school

Jebel Gents - Wednesday lunchtime

J-Band - Thursday lunchtime

Music Mondays

It was great to see Mae and Lucy take the stage for Music Monday this week and both performed some incredible piano pieces to delight the eager audience. Music Monday is a great way to introduce performers to the excitement of playing in front of an audience and Mr Laird is already inundated with applications to perform. Look out for more news on other musical events soon.

Mae 8ST

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Lucy 9JBr

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Book Review

The Maze Runner

By James Dashner

The Maze Runner is an incredible novel about a community of boys, The Gladers, in an arena that seems to resemble a maze. However, all these children can remember is their first name and nothing else from their past life outside this arena. No one knows why they are there or what's happening to the outside world, their only hope of survival is keeping order in the Glade. Every month a new boy is brought into the arena and when Thomas, the main character, is brought into the maze, weird things start to happen. The Gladers suspect that if they do not find a way out of the maze soon they will all be doomed for death. Could Thomas be their key to freedom or a bad omen leading to death?

The Maze Runner is a fantastic novel for young adults and teenagers who love action, mystery, and adventure. This book is one of a kind that you cannot stop reading!

Reviewed by Klara 10LH

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, to Mrs Horsham lhorsham@jebelalischool.org and we will feature it in The Junction! Happy reading!

Gulf Youth Sport Award

Charlie Ralph 9JS received an award as one of the finalists for 'Coach of the Year' at the Gulf Youth Sport Award. We are incredibly proud of him for reaching his achievements!

Charlie is thirteen years old and has been a junior coach for the Heroes of Hope - a not-for-profit organisation that supports people of determination within sports for over a year now. Charlie is a keen young sportsman who enjoys running, swimming and rugby. His running has gained him many fantastic accolades which include 'Junior Runner of the Year' Supersports ABRAS and 'Champion of Champions' Sketchers Performance Run. However, one of his greatest achievements has been coaching a young athlete who is autistic from HoH and supporting and supporting him to run 100K over a five-week period some months ago to raise awareness for autism.

Charlie displayed empathy, amazing maturity, and a strong will mindset of which everyone was tremendously proud. He has gone on to support other athletes in various races including Hatta Quest and Sharjah Endurance Run. He also runs competitively representing HoH to promote awareness of a cause that's very close to his heart. A deserving young man!

Reminder JAS Parent Questionnaire - September 2021

We would kindly request that one parent from each family complete the JAS Parent Questionnaire If you have more than one child at JAS then please select the year group of your eldest child. The questionnaire should take no longer than five minutes to complete. Please answer each question honestly as your views will help to improve the school and help inform our school’s future outcomes.

The closing date for the questionnaire is Sunday 03 October 2021 at 8 am.

Looking Ahead

JAS Sixth Form Virtual Open Evening

We are delighted to invite you to our Sixth Form Virtual Open Evening on Wednesday 13 October at 6:00 pm. To express your interest please sign up here and we will share the meeting link with you in due course.

Belong

The Virtual Open Evening will introduce the rich history of JAS and the bright future of our Sixth Form. As we explain our A-level provision and ETHOS programme, you will hear first-hand from our Sixth Form students about their experiences and opportunities.

Believe

Alongside A-level provision, students take part in our Options & Aspirations Programme which supports our students to find weekly work experience, participate in industry workshops, and write successful applications to universities and apprenticeships across the world.

Become

Upon graduation from JAS, students are more than just their grades. Not only do our students benefit from smaller-than-average class sizes, but they can also take advantage of our passionate staff and pastoral support. Our holistic vision and ETHOS programme develop study skills and life skills in our young adults. Encouraging and enhancing responsibility and independence allows students to thrive when at university or in employment.

We hope you can join us on Wednesday 13 October and look forward to welcoming you.

If you have any questions or to enquire about a tour please call +971 4 884 6485, email admissions@jebelalischool.org, or visit www.jebelalischool.org/sixth-form.

Thursday 14 October 2021 - Earlier finish for students

Thursday 14 October 2021 is a Staff Professional Development day, as noted on the KHDA approved Academic Calendar for 2021/22. Staff will be participating in professional development sessions in the afternoon. Classes will run as normal in the morning however there will be an earlier finish for students as follows;

11.30am - FS1 & 2.
11:40am - Key Stage 1.
11.50am - Key Stage 2.
12.00pm - Secondary - for all year groups.

COVID-19 Useful Addresses and Links

ReportingCovid@JebelAliSchool.org

Use this email address for:

The submission of medical reports and PCR results (if required).

COVID-19Documents@JebelAliSchool.org

Use this email address for:

After traveling, a negative PCR test certificate stating child’s name, class, DoB and arrival date in the UAE.

Distance Learning Intent Form

Use this link if:

You intend for your child to distance learn.
Available only until 3 October 2021 as per KHDA protocols.

Please click this link for the updated procedures when reporting COVID-19 positive or close contact cases.

Counsellor's Corner

Let’s talk...

The new school year has begun in full swing of school, work, sports practices, drop-offs and pick-ups, which can all be time-consuming. While all the activities happen around us, are we neglecting the simple task of ‘talking’ to our children?

Talking, sharing and doing activities with your child/ren is essential to their growth and development. When parents are involved in their child’s education, children have shown to do better.

Communication is a basic building block of any relationship!

When was the last time you sat down and had a ‘real’ conversation with your child? Did you actually listen to what they were saying or how they felt? Did you take an interest in their subjects/topics? Have you found out who their friends or teachers are this year?

Why is it so important to have good conversations with your children?

It helps them develop conversational skills and the ability to relate to others
How a parent talks and responds to their children influences their sense of self and self-esteem
Open and respectful communication improves parent-child relationships (Children are more likely to cooperate and work ‘with’ their parents)
Good communication promotes a sense of trust. Children are more likely to seek parental support/advice when needed.

Helpful tips:

Active listening: Be attentive and ask meaningful questions. Really listen to what your child is saying, take note of the details- use their conversational styles when possible.
Encourage emotional literacy - ask how they feel/felt. This will help you understand and support them better. It will also help them understand and regulate their emotions as they get older.
Find a suitable time for both of you: Give them your full attention. If they want to share something personal, it's not easy for them - so be patient.
Don’t be distracted by your phones/tv, give them that time... show them you care.
Give some advice/suggestions: Surprisingly, kids sometimes want some direction/advice from you - they may not take it, but they just want to have your take on it.
You matter too! Communicate about your day or a difficult situation you had to deal with. Normalise that you are a person too, with a range of emotions and model how to deal with these effectively.

Your child’s interests will change as they grow up. Your communication must evolve accordingly. When your child becomes a teenager, you can’t expect to talk about the same things that were fun before. Modify and change how you talk to each individual child. Take an interest in what they like and use those as building blocks of communicating.

We all lead very busy lives - but the time you invest in your children, through proper communication will promote a happy and healthy future for them. Sometimes all we need is someone to take an interest and listen to us.

‘The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand, we listen to reply’

Ms Z Ali

Helpful Hints

Parents guide to Google Classroom

Perhaps you are new to Google Classroom or perhaps you have been used to the platform before. Maybe you can gain some helpful hints, tips and reminders from the points below.

Have you had a look at your child’s Google Classroom? I would really recommend sitting with your child and allowing them to give you a guided tour of what Google Classroom is all about. You will see their virtual classrooms and all of the contents, assignments and homeworks.
Google Classroom is not a private place - please feel free to have a look at the work that has been assigned and even what your child has submitted. Please note that digital submissions will be attached to each assignment. However, students also complete work in their subject exercise books.
Make sure to sign up to Guardian Summary emails. You will have received an email requesting you to sign up to Google Classroom summaries. There are two options: daily summaries or weekly summaries. Weekly summaries are typically sent to parents/guardians on Fridays.
Guardian Summary emails are a great way to strike up conversation with your child. You will be able to see what the students have been studying and the topics they are covering. Although, you will not be able to see details unless you log into the Google Classroom via your children account.

If you are not receiving Guardian Emails, I would recommend searching through your mailbox first to see if the request email has been missed. If you are still unsuccessful, please feel free to email into school so that you may be assisted.

Article of Interest

10 things parents can do to keep their children safe online

As parents, we generally do everything we can to keep our children safe but what are you doing to protect them from online dangers? With so many teens and younger children going online you should introduce some cyber safety rules at home to help your child navigate their digital lives safely.

Here are some tips to help you:

1. Talk openly with your child about their online activity

As soon as your child starts accessing the internet, talk to them about what they are reading, watching and who they are communicating with online. Ask your child what sites they visit or apps they use, write a list, and look at them together. Talk to your child about what you think is appropriate, and remind them that this may be different for other parents and their children.

Listen to your child and reach an agreement about what is right for your family. It’s vital to teach them about their online reputation and how they must be careful about how they behave, interact with people and represent themselves in such a public forum. They must remember that the internet isn’t always private.

2. Keep screens and devices where you can see them

Always monitor your child’s time online, particularly younger children. Keep the computer in a central spot in the home where it’s easy to keep an eye on what your child is doing and viewing online. For mobile devices, you can set them to forget Wi-Fi passcodes so your children can not go online without you knowing. Try to make an agreement that there are no tablets, laptops or gaming in bedrooms.

For younger children, you might also consider checking browser histories after your child has been online to see what sites they are visiting. This approach obviously gets harder as children grow older and work out how to clear histories – which is more reason to open the lines of communication about internet use at an early age

3. Know your parental controls

Innocent searches online can lead to not-so-innocent results, so it’s wise to know how to use the parental controls/search restrictions offered by web browsers, internet service provider and devices. For example, the SafeSearch Filters feature on Google will block sites with explicit material. To turn it on, go to Settings/SafeSearch Filters. Although not accurate, parental controls can help prevent your child from seeing and accessing inappropriate material.

4. Know who your children’s online friends are

Children and young people can be alarmingly trusting about who they are chatting with if they are not taught to be cyber wise from an early age. Make sure you become friends and be aware of your child’s social media circles and ensure you monitor posts.

5. Be ‘share aware’ to protect your privacy

If your child is a regular user of social networks, they must be aware of the risk of personal information or images being made public once they post it. While they won’t fully understand the consequences of revealing personal information online, you should teach them to be cautious and thoughtful about what they post and share. Encourage your children to ask themselves before posting anything if the information or photo is something they would give a stranger. If the answer is no, don’t post it.

If your child is sharing photos or posts online ask your child to let you see what they are sharing or ask an older sibling to check any photos before they’re shared.

6. Keep control of your family’s digital footprint

Every picture and personal detail that is posted and shared on social media and the internet contributes to someone’s digital footprint. The big risk with this is that once information is shared publicly, it can be used in ways you may not expect and cannot control. You should also assume that anything that is put online is permanent (it can sometimes be deleted but not always before others have seen it and saved it). For this reason, children and young people need to be smart about protecting their images and information. This also applies to parents who regularly post pictures of their children online.

7. Teach your children to keep their location private

Most apps, networks and devices have geo-tagging features which make your whereabouts public and can lead someone directly to you. These features should be turned off for obvious privacy and safety reasons. Digital photos also contain metadata (information about the time, date and GPS coordinates) which may reveal more then you want to. Some social media platforms automatically hide or remove this data, but not all, so do your homework and know how much info you’re sharing.

8. Keep track of online time

It is recommended that children between the age of five and 17 should have no more than two hours of screen time a day. So, it’s important to monitor your child’s online time, particularly younger children, to ensure they do not develop bad habits. Get your children to agree on a period of time, say 30 minutes per session, and set a timer to go off – don’t forget to make this a non-negotiable finish time. You should also switch off the home Wi-Fi at a set time each night (ideally before bedtime) so everyone has some ‘time-out’ from the internet. You can also try making some days ‘screen-free’ in your home to encourage everyone to pursue other more active and/or less technology-driven ways to entertain themselves.

9. Be Online Savvy

Educate yourself on ways to be safe on social networks so that you can give the best advice to your children. Sign up to the social networks and apps your children are using and find out how to use the privacy settings and reporting mechanisms. Talk about how they can stay safe on social networks, including talking to a trusted person when they are worried, and being aware of what constitutes online bullying – both as a perpetrator and a victim.

If your child uses social networks, be sure they know how to:

Report inappropriate and/or offensive posts
Block someone
Keep information private.

10. Lead by example

Lead by example and always model the kind of positive online behaviour you would like your children to use. If they see you being cautious and respectable when you are online, they are more likely to follow in your footsteps. This also includes limiting your own screen time.

There are so many educational, entertainment, social and other benefits of the internet, so give your children the skills and knowledge they need to know how to make the most of it and avoid the dangers.

Staff Profile

Benjamin Thompson

Head of Options and Aspirations and Teacher of Geography

Ben completed his BA in Geography at the University of Leicester and went on to take his PGCE at the University of Cambridge. He has over twenty five years of experience teaching across the curriculum, including A levels and the IB, in a variety of subjects including Geography, Sociology and Environmental Systems and Societies.

For the last five years, before joining JAS this September, he has managed career advice and the university advisor position in a large outstanding school in Dubai and helped students with applications to a wide variety of universities and country destinations; bringing a wealth of experience to the sixth form team to support JAS students in their applications. He is passionate about helping students discover future careers, developing pathways and supporting them in their applications. As the JAS Head of the Options and Aspirations Programme he is excited to bring Unifrog to the students as a new careers platform to better inform and support our students about careers and universities.

Ben is a JAS parent to two girls in years three and four. He looks forward to establishing the JAS vision that better is always possible in the Options and Aspirations Programme and supporting the class of 2023 in their university applications. When Ben is not working he enjoys spending time with his daughters, travelling, playing sports including golf and basketball, and reading.

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