‘When life gets blurry, adjust your focus. Sometimes all you need is a new perspective’

Four years ago, my perspective changed. Quite literally. I had been experiencing issues with my eyesight and I was starting to strain in front of a book or computer screen and that seeing road signs were increasingly becoming more difficult. A trip to the specialists confirmed what I had been dreading; I was getting old. I may very well be able to run a half-marathon, but it was knowing I was running in the right direction that was going to be problematic.

For anyone who has experienced the transition to wearing glasses for the first time, they will tell you that apart from the obvious staring that comes from people looking at you, thinking ‘something looks different about Mr Green today…’ there is a rather strange visual distortion that occurs. Apparently, it's common for your eyes and your brain to take some time to adjust to processing new images through a new lens. It’s like shifting from ‘analogue’ to ‘HD’ and the brain take a few days to accept the sharp, new image it's receiving is correct. New glasses meant that I quickly understood that I had been compensating for poor vision for so long that I had not realised what ‘normal’ should look like.

Perception is important. I’m a ‘glass half full’ person rather than ‘half empty’ and always like to perceive life in a positive way. Speaking with parents and students in recent weeks, the issue of perception will sometimes arise. People see situations differently as their perceptions and reactions can be very different. What might be considered a positive result by one, may very well be considered disappointing to another. What is clear, however, is that all through life we have a choice on what to see and what to choose. How we feel is largely determined by how we see things. So when we feel ‘stuck’, if we change the way we approach our ‘stuckness’, we’ll often find a way forward.

Perspective is everything and when we find a way to change, then our view on life can be very different. Like wearing new glasses, when we change the way we look at things it can be extremely disorientating, even a little scary at first. So how can we change our perspectives (without the need for new glasses)?

Always look for the positives in every situation

Often we regard events that impact upon us negatively in the worst possible light. Knowing that I have poor eyesight (in one eye in particular) has meant that I can now read more comfortably and drive more safely. A disappointing mock result or test result is not the end of the world. We can view such things differently simply by now understanding what went wrong. We have learned from mistakes and increased our knowledge as a direct result of what we originally perceived as failure!

When we can change our perspective to view things in a positive way, we’ll find that life begins to be more positive as well.

Begin to see the improbable as becoming possible

I have heard many times in my career students getting caught up in seeing things as impossible. But when we stop and think about it, every impossible thing begins with a seed of possibility that requires us to stretch our boundaries to achieve. Instead of last minute cramming of information the night before a test in the hope of getting a result, a more habitual and planned revision plan will make what was thought to be an impossible goal, a reality.

Changing perceptions of other people

This is not easy. We often form an idea of what someone should be like, formed on gut instincts and first impressions and that’s not always an easy thing to change. We should also change how we look at people if we’ve been upset or hurt by someone. Sometimes, it’s intentional, but often it's not and we can hold on to a lot of resentment and negativity that can keep us stuck because we’re not willing to let go of it.

When we view things in a more positive light we should consider that they were having a bad day and that it was nothing to do with ourselves. If we can let go of our hurt and not hold a grudge then we can change the way we react to that person and feel better about ourselves. They might not even have been aware that their actions had a negative impact because it was never about us in the first place.

Keep an open mind

To move forward, we must be open to change. We believe that ‘Better is always possible’ and this means we sometimes have to change things. Change is a chance to stop doing what’s not working, start doing things that would work better and keep doing the things that work well. When any great change happens, it’s a chance to do a reset. It’s a chance for a fresh start and creates a vision for the future. Our best ideas may come from being open to change and hearing other people’s perspectives.

Avoid falling back into old habits

The trick to changing the way we see things is not to allow ourselves to fall back on our old perceptions of how things should be. My perceptions have changed dramatically by wearing glasses, if I were to take them off then life would change focus and be negatively affected. Similarly, an oft-quoted story about Pablo Picasso is about the time he was hanging around an exhibition of his paintings in Paris. He was approached by a man who asked Picasso why he didn’t paint people the way they look. ‘’Well, how do they look?’’ asked Picasso. The man took a photograph of his wife from his wallet and handed it over. Picasso looked at the picture; then handing it back, said, “She is awfully small isn’t she. And flat too.” We must accept the fact that much of what seems real to us is governed by our own perceptions.

Solutions to problems are usually obvious when viewed from different perspectives. Looking at the world through a single lens makes everything appear the same. To see things differently, we must perceive them differently. Sometimes that simply takes a pair of glasses.

Have a wonderful weekend and (excuse the pun) I look forward to seeing you at the Festive Fayre!

Business

A Level Business

This week the top of the secondary school met the top of the primary school. Our Year 12 Business students spent a fun-filled lesson mentoring Year 6 students on their biomimicry product design projects. They reviewed their designs and offered their advice on how to give a persuasive product pitch. A great confidence-boosting experience for both parties. They were really impressed with the quality of work and enthusiasm for business shown by their younger peers!

This week, the Year 10s have been learning about the fixed and variable costs involved in making a packet of crisps leading to profit and break-even.

JAS Market Traders

The JAS Market Traders competition came to a dramatic end this week. Ava was the overall winner with a profit of $15,000 closely followed by Hannah with $14,200! Kye scooped the Kahoot champion prize demonstrating his knowledge of all things finance! It’s been a fun term with much excitement and drama - we have all learned a lot from crypto to palladium to the ethics of leverage!!!

STEM Club

The students have been working on building a paper rollercoaster. The students had two weeks to design and create a working rollercoaster. They all did a fantastic job at designing their rollercoasters and demonstrated excellent teamwork skills to get their structures built in time.

Whole School: Transition to Apple Devices

Over the past two years, Jebel Ali School has experienced phenomenal growth in the use of technology as a learning tool and we wish to extend those advances by sharing some exciting new developments with you.

Over the course of several months, we have conducted an audit of the safeguarding, usage and quality of learning taking place with regard to educational technology tools such as iPad in primary and Chromebook in secondary. We have made tremendous progress over the last few years and we now wish to build on that success.

As a result of this audit, we have made the decision that, from September 2022, all students at Jebel Ali School from years 3 to 11 will be required to have an iPad for learning. This means we are phasing out the use of Chromebook across the school.

Enhanced Safeguarding

One of the overarching reasons for this development is to increase the safeguarding of students while using devices. The Apple environment offers teachers and our technical team unparalleled tools for managing devices in lessons and for safeguarding students while online.

Another main consideration for implementing this strategy is to further enhance the provision of educational technology usage across the curriculum. The impact will be extensive across all subjects as students use the thousands of education applications available on iPad to collaborate, create, communicate and enhance their critical thinking. The range of advanced tools available for our inclusion students will also enhance the provision for, and support of, their learning.

We understand that there are a wide range of devices available and purchasing the correct one can be a daunting task. We recommend the following:

An iPad that can run iOS 15 or above such as:

• iPad – 8th or 9th Generation

• iPad Air – 3 (or later)

• iPad Pro – All models

• Students in secondary should also have a compatible keyboard and an appropriate stylus, preferably an Apple Pencil.

• We are working with educational providers on securing stock of a new stylus that is compatible with iPad but costs approximately 50% less than Apple Pencil. We will have more information on this in the new year.

• Due to the size of the screen, an iPad Mini is not recommended.

We will communicate with you in the new year on how to purchase devices and take advantage of special discounted educational pricing. However, if you wish to purchase sooner you can avail of our offers from educational provider MDS here. Please note, delivery from MDS can take between 4 to 6 weeks.

Years 12 and 13

The curriculum in the Sixth Form lends itself more to working on a laptop device; students should therefore use a MacBook which supports macOS Monterey.

Chromebooks

We understand that this may present a challenge to families who have recently purchased a Chromebook. We are working with our educational supplier to offer a trade-in programme for Chromebooks and we will communicate with you on this in January 2022.

Webinar: Sunday 28th November 1:30pm

We will be hosting a webinar to provide detailed information on these developments. It will also be an opportunity for families to ask questions. This event will be recorded for those who cannot attend. The webinar can be accessed here.

We hope that you are as excited as we are in taking this next step in our teaching and learning journey. If you have any questions prior to the webinar, please email jasbyod@jebelalischool.org

Lizzie Robinson

Principal

Helpful Hints

It is that time of year when Year 11 are (hopefully) thinking about their mock examinations looming after the winter break. Even if you are not in Year 11 there are still regular summative assessments for all students and these can be stressful times if you are not that certain how to study or prepare. Growth-mindedness is one of the JAS core values so why not see how much you can improve your study skills by trying out a new note-taking technique. It may take a bit of practice, but persevere and see how it can support your learning and improve your recall.

Taking notes Cornell style

There are not a lot of benefits to transferring information from one location (a presentation or textbook) to another (your notebook) if all you are doing is copying the words. The Cornell method can help you condense and organise your notes, as well as learn how to reflect on them.