The Junction

28 October 2021

A Note From Mr Green

Without doubt, the highlight of the week has been seeing so many of our students taking part in Camps Week. From an academic and personal development perspective, they have been a timely reminder of how essential they truly are to a child’s school experience. I remember fondly my first residential trip with my Primary School to a small place called Burwardsley in Cheshire, England. My overwhelming memory is that of laughter and adventure as we hiked along the Sandstone trail and slid down hillsides in torrential rain, led by a pipe-smoking eccentric teacher by the name of Mr Wood – different times! The thing is, we remember our school trips, we remember the times we laughed till our sides ached and we remember what it was like to be in different places, experiencing new adventures.

There is a lot of work that goes into preparing such trips and I cannot praise our teachers enough for ensuring exciting and fun activities for our students this week. Sessions have been designed with specific goals in mind; whether it’s building greater confidence and teambuilding to encourage students to work together, or to encourage independence and a sense of personal responsibility. Students have been able to engage with the outdoors and try activities that not only get them active for the duration of the trip but also inspire a love of adventure that will hopefully stay with them and help them develop into fit, active and healthy adults. Students have also been offered a unique opportunity to claim their independence, make their own decisions, build new friendships and importantly the experience has allowed them to connect with the outdoor world and the powerful and inspirational lessons that can be learned by simply being outside.

Leaving the classroom for a residential trip places students in a different social environment. They get to meet a new set of adults and possibly interact with other children during the course of the trip. These new interactions give them a vital lesson on how to behave in different settings. What trips like these also do is foster a sense of teamwork and community among the students as they experience a new environment together. There will be tests along the way. There will be mistakes made. But this is what is so integral about the Jebel Ali School experience. Being provided with the safety and assurance that this is normal. We build resilience, we become more empathetic and tolerant as compared to those who don’t. Going on these trips enhances their critical thinking skills and gives students a chance to think about situations or themes from a different perspective.

I still remember my eight-year-old self on that residential trip. The blisters on my feet. The aching shoulders where my army and navy store rucksack had dug so hard they left indents for several days later. The sodden clothes from walking all day in the rain. It might have been hard at the time, but looking back, I loved every minute and wouldn’t have changed a thing. There will be some tired students this weekend, but there will be, more importantly, cherished memories.

Thank you to all our JAS families for all your donations on Pink Day, we managed to raise AED 7,818 for the Al Jalila Foundation.

Have an enjoyable and restful weekend.

Week in Review

Science

The Year 6 students have had a tremendous amount of fun during the Science Spooktacular days this week. There were lots of screams, oohs, aahs and laughter. Students saw demonstrations using dry ice, screaming jelly babies and exploding pumpkins! They also got stuck in during their practical lab time to make their own slime.

'Spooktacular' is a longstanding and incredibly fun transition tradition at JAS for our Year 6 students going into Year 7, giving them a glimpse of what exciting science happens in our Secondary School.

Science can be messy and a lot of fun! Thank you to all the Secondary Science team for making this an experience to remember!

Copy of VID20211027084747.mp4

Maths

Cryptocurrency lessons

Year 7 and Year 8 students have been using Cryptocurrencies to demonstrate percentage change in their Maths lessons. Students created a portfolio of assets and will be having a competition over the next few weeks to see who can create the biggest percentage increase.

History

We have been celebrating Black History Month (BHM) at JAS. This national celebration in the UK aims to promote and celebrate Black contributions to British society, and to foster an understanding of Black history in general. Its origins go back to the 1920s in the United States. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated in February in the United States and Canada, while in Ireland and the United Kingdom it is observed in October.

All of the senior school students have had an assembly introducing Black History Month. They have explored a brief history of slavery and the civil rights movement in the US and UK, with a particular focus on British history including the Bristol Bus Boycott. This has been well received by the students and has promoted critical thinking and discussion as well as empathy and intercultural learning. These skills are essential for young people to develop as they navigate our complex world.

In additional to this, an area of the library has been dedicated to Black History Month. The students have been able to sample a selection of books from Black authors around the world. By elevating different authors, we hope that the students own experience will be enhanced and more varied.

The whole of KS3 will receive three BHM lessons at some point at the course of this month. These will focus on discussions surrounding different social issues that have been highlighted in the media from women’s rights to social equality and the role of protest music within the civil rights movement. This will culminate in students producing and performing their own poems or songs. The quality of work produced so far, has been exceptional.

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Year 7 and 8 have taken part in a scavenger hunt locating posters of famous people related to the civil rights movement. This exercise has prompted the students to work as a team to enquire about the individual’s role in the civil rights movement. Students demonstrated a great deal of enthusiasm, running the halls of the school eagerly looking for the next poster. This learning will culminate in a fun class quiz for all KS3 classes. Some classes have yet to take part in the quiz, so results will be announced after the half term.

Let's highlight some people who brought us here

The people who put their blood,ssweat and tears,

Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela were just some of the few,

Martin Luther King wrote a speech of dreams now let's hear our own views.

My dream is that we are all treated the same,

A world where no one is the blame,

A world with black and white,

A world where everyone is treated right.

My dream is that we live in a world where all gender have the same say,

A world where everyone gets the same pay,

A world where women don't stand in silence,

A world where women don’t get pounded with violice.

My dream is to live with Peace and Equality,

A world where our opinions are not ruined by politics,

A world where we can express our difference,

A world where they wouldn’t scream and say that we're insignificant.

By: Keira, Clelia and Reeya

Poverty

Our world is split into parts

bright life here, painful death there,

A wide smile here, a large tear there,

Wealth here, poverty everywhere.

While you probably didn't care

There is so much unfair

So instead of giving people a glare

You should learn how to share

Did you ever feel so hungry that you wanna cry,

Or being too tired to open your eyes.

While one is enjoying the others are suffering

You can't even imagine how many people are struggling.

In a few years, our world will break into two

The decision to help is up to me and you.

By Anzhelina Singla

BLM

As I walk past the street the neighbors’ dog starts to bark

The voice of a policeman says NOW! and they all come charging

Bewildered and scared, I scream as I try to explain and redeem

Myself for something that I haven't done he pins me down on the neck and - I’m gone

Oh, why do you treat me differently? We’re the same except for the colour of our skin - Is that the reason? It's like saying you’ll eat a red apple and not a green one

Even though they have the same taste. Because we’re all one race

We must work together to strive and make the world a better place.

By Megan Gracias

Women’s Rights

They said a woman’s job was cleaning the house,

And staying as quiet as a mouse,

A woman wants to earn real pay,

Because they work just as hard as men every day.

They get judged because of their gender,

But they will never surrender.

By Fatima Rana

English

In line with the Expo theme of Mobility, students have been designing their own body smart prototype to help a specific group of people. Ideas ranged from smart hair ties to smart hearing aids, and we even had smart braces to help those with broken bones!

The students then delivered a Dragon's Den style pitch to their peers to convince them to invest in their product.

PE

Year 11

Our GCSE students never stop impressing us. The step in their academic journey is, to begin with their Personal Exercise Programme. This piece of work requires them to combine their recently acquired knowledge of anatomy, physiology and physical training to design their own bespoke training programme. In order to do this effectively, they have to consider their own strengths and weaknesses. Now experts in circuit, interval and plyometric training, our student athletes are able to target specific area of fitness to improve their sporting performance.

Year 10

Our Year 10's have just finished their first unit of academic PE, learning about health fitness and well-being. Most recently they have been covering concepts such as hypokinetic diseases, physical activity and performance. Next they will be taking on the role of a sports scientist as they learn anatomy and physiology of the body and how it enables athletes to perform in their specific sports.

Secondary Residential Camp

Lots of laughs, sweat and memories made at the Year 7 Camp with Challenging Adventure in RAK. What a trip!

We are so proud of each and everyone of the students for taking part, overcoming fears and challenging themselves. The students participated in Via Feratta, Rock Hopping, Orienteering, Wilderness Survival, Obstacle Course and Team Building activities. With smiles and a great attitude, the students stepped out of their comfort zones and mucked in!

This was the first school residential for most students, which meant there were a lot of emotions involved. I am pleased to say all went well and they have the memories of their experiences to cherish.

Until next year!

Survival skills, kayaking, raft building and more, our Year 8 students are being kept very busy and are having a truly wonderful time!

Our Year 9 students are having an absolute blast fine-tuning their archery skills and constructing shelters. We look forward to hearing all about their adventures when they return this afternoon!

The Year 10 students have completed their practice bronze International Award trek around Fossil Rock. All students walked through the challenging terrain, achieving personal goals and making long-lasting memories. All students have done exceptionally well to get to the finish overcoming the heat, sandstorm and camels along the way!

All students are excited for their bronze assessments in the new year.

Our Year 11 and 12 Duke of Edinburgh International students have enjoyed their first day and evening in the desert, orienteering, camp building as part of their Silver and Gold Awards.

Dubai Fitness Challenge

JAS is going around the world this year with the Dubai Fitness Challenge. We will join the challenge from Sunday 31 October and complete activities all the way through until Thursday 25 November. Our aim as a community is to complete a distance of 40,075km (the circumference of the world). We will do this by completing wake and shake videos and timed laps of our sports field.

Look out for more information coming soon on how parents can contribute to our mammoth challenge, by adding their own walking, running, cycling or swimming distances!

JAS DFC Trailer 2021.mov

We would like to invite the parents of our Secondary Cross Country Club students to join their children on Wednesday morning Damac Hills Cross Country Club runs for the duration of DFC 2021.

Starting on Wednesday 3 November, you are welcome to join the run, meeting at the Damac Hills Skate Park at 06:50 am.

Please note that there is a set run plan schedule for our students for each run. The students are self-divided into three groups supervised by JAS Staff and you are welcome to join your child's group.

Please be aware that you will need to have a mask with you, adhere to the UAE Covid-19 social distancing regulations and be self-sufficient with water.

For those of you who may be taking part in the Expo Run (19 November - 3km/5km/10km) and DXBRUN 30x30 (26 November - 5km/10km on SZR) these will be great build-up runs.

We very much look forward to you joining in these runs.

Expo Snippet

Expo Snippet - The Pavilion Architecture.pdf

Book Review

One of Us is Lying

By Karen M McManus

One of Us is Lying is an extremely engaging novel about a group of teenagers called Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper who are suspects in the assassination of Simon Kelleher who is the school gossip boy who created an app exposing many students’ secrets in the school. Each of the high school students are interrogated, and have secrets that they would do anything to protect. So, how far would they go to make sure they're kept from suspicion?

This book is for people who like murder mysteries, young adult and suspense. The plot twist in this story is tremendous; it makes you want to read more and more and when you finish it, it makes you think about what you should read next. This book is also very modern because its pages are red which in my opinion, is a symbol of blood.

One Of Us Is Lying has sold more than 200,000 copies and there is second novel called One Of Us Is Next.

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

Looking Ahead

Sixth Form Update

It was great to see so many parents attend the Sixth Form virtual open evening. We really enjoyed the evening, particularly your questions and your interaction.

If you weren’t able to join us on this occasion or would like to see/hear the evening again, please find a link to the recording of the event: LINK

You might also be interested in reading the following two handbooks which provide information and insight into JAS Sixth Form.

Admissions Process:

Visit our website and complete the relevant application form;
Internal Applicants (Current Year 11 JAS students)
External Applicants (External students)
Our Admissions team and Head of Sixth Form will then be in contact to conduct a Guidance Interview.

Find out how to apply via our website www.jebelalischool.org/sixth-form

School Tours:

If you have any further questions or enquiries, or if you would like to book a Sixth Form tour, please contact us via email; admissions@jebelalischool.org and our team will be happy to assist you.

Upcoming Events:

On Tuesday 2 November, Mr Green and Mr Batten will be available throughout our JAS Year 11 Parents Consultation Evening. They are able to offer A-level options advice, guidance on our Sixth Form pathways, or answer any general questions that you may have.

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 11 Tuesday 2 November

Year 7 Sunday 7 November

Year 8 Tuesday 16 November

Year 10 Wednesday 24 November

Year 12 Monday 29 November

Year 9 Tuesday 7 December

Please note that on Tuesday 2 November due to parent consultations the following extracurricular activities after school are cancelled:

Ceramics Club

JAS Market Traders

Model United Nations

Peer Counselling Training Programme

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

Flu Awareness

Seasonal influenza is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that circulate in all parts of the world affecting all age groups. It is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and a runny or blocked nose.

The DHA has provided a Seasonal Influenza: Guide for parents and a Seasonal Influenza Information Brochure which gives an overview of the symptoms and the effects of the influenza vaccine.

Although not a mandatory requirement, we would encourage all students, parents and staff to get the Influenza vaccine in order to protect our community against the seasonal influenza virus infection.

Helpful Hints

Why is Maths Useful?

The probability of you entering a profession that requires Trigonometry, for example, is unlikely, but that is not the purpose of studying maths. We study maths because it teaches us a way of thinking and it provides us with a method of solving a range of problems beyond the classroom. There are some obvious examples, such as dealing with money and calculating best buys in supermarkets, but there are much more important responsibilities and problems we need to have the tools to deal with in adulthood. These could be, deciding on an appropriate mortgage, investing your money, what type of vehicle financing you choose, whether you should accept a new job role, even deciding on the person to build your life with. Although these problems don’t all appear to relate to the maths you study at school, all problems we encounter need to be carefully considered, arranged, processed, and interpreted so that an intelligent decision can be made. All this requires planning, logical thinking, and perhaps experimentation, evaluating and testing to ensure you have reached the most appropriate decision. Many of these skills are continually developed when studying maths. There are many processes involved in answering a maths problem, which are automatised through maths practice. Studying maths trains you to be an expert problem solver which is a subconscious tool we require to make the best choices in life.

With the upcoming end of term assessments in December and the Year 11 mock exams in January, we thought it would be beneficial to offer some helpful tips when preparing for your maths assessments.

Tips for Revising Maths

Identify a list of your topic areas for improvement using your checklists on Google Classroom.
Use your revision sheets on Google Classroom which link to Corbett Maths video tutorials and exercises.
Consistency is key – plan exactly when you are going to revise and be strict with yourself, do not leave all your revision to the last minute, complete small amounts on a regular basis.
Don’t just read through your notes! The only way to revise maths is to do maths, the more questions you practise, the more you will get right, the higher your confidence will be, the more you will enjoy revision and the more success you will achieve in your assessment.
Practice completely questions under exam conditions.
Practice using your calculator – Casio FX-991EX Classwiz is the recommended calculator of choice.

Tips for Sitting Maths Assessments

Don’t stay up late revising the night before.
Ensure you have all the correct equipment packed the night before.
Monitor the timings in the exam – the number of marks per question is approximately how many minutes you should spend on each question.
If you get stuck on a question, move on and if you have time, come back to it at the end.
Read the question carefully – maths questions contain words which can alter the interpretation of the question if they are missed.
Always show your full working.
If you have time, check through your answers at the end.

Charlotte Baker

Head of Mathematics

Article of Interest

Boost your creativity and your wellbeing

Expressing yourself through artistic and creative activities is like a prescription for your mental health. Turning to creativity has been proven in extensive research to relieve both stress and anxiety, and creativity in general is directly associated with positive emotion and well-being. For example, researchers have found that people report being happy and energized when they are engaged in everyday creative endeavors, and that being in a positive mood goes hand in hand with creative thinking.

In 2015, psychologist and art therapist Dr. Cathy Malchiodi cited multiple studies confirming that being creative can increase positive emotions, lessen depressive symptoms, reduce stress, decrease anxiety, and even improve immune system functioning. A 2016 study in The Journal of Positive Psychology supported these earlier findings, concluding that “spending time on creative goals during a day is associated with higher activated positive affect (PA) on that day.”

Positive affect is the extent to which people experience positive moods, such as joy, happiness, and optimism. Higher positive affect lowers stress and “expands our perspective so that we notice more possibilities in our lives,” wellness coach Elizabeth Scott says. “This enables us to more easily take advantage of these resources.” Ms. Scott says that if you experience more positive affect, for example, you may be less prone to dwell on the negative and may put more focus on the possibilities in your life.

Creativity is like a muscle. It must be stretched, challenged, and occasionally pushed past its comfort zone. The more you exercise your creativity, the stronger it gets. Below are some tips to help you improve your creativity and enhance your wellbeing.

Keep learning

A creative mind is a curious mind, so make an effort to keep learning new skills and indulging your natural curiosity to find out more about the world and everything in it.

Once you’ve developed some creative skills, it’s important to keep on challenging yourself and acquiring new knowledge to inspire you and help you grow. Whether you simply make an effort to read more in your spare time, or look into taking more actual courses, constant learning is vital to boost your creativity.

Do what you love

When you actually love your job, you are naturally going to be more inspired and enthusiastic about creative problem solving and coming up with new ideas. A task that you keep putting off is going to be very difficult to approach with a positive, creative attitude.

Find a hobby that lets you be creative that you love to do, such as playing an instrument, painting, or even a sport that completely places you in the present.

Take a break

Sometimes your best ideas will come when you're not wracking your brain trying to come up with the next great idea. Although creativity is absolutely a skill you can train yourself to be better at, it’s important to also not put too much pressure on yourself. If you’ve been sitting at your desk for hours desperately seeking new ideas and solutions and coming up with nothing, take a break.

It could be while you're sleeping. A good night of rest will help you be more productive and creative.

Get a change of scenery, clear your head, and take your mind off the task at hand. If your creativity is lacking, unplug. Relax. And let your brain do its magic!

Get some exercise

Exercise can be a great way to clear your mind if you’ve been feeling under pressure or stressed out.

Numerous studies have shown that physical exercise (even just 30 minutes of aerobic activity) genuinely does help us become more creative as well as improve brain function! So next time you’re in a bit of a creative rut, put on your running shoes and get your heart rate pumping and see if you can encourage your creative juices to flow more freely!

Find the conditions that make you most creative

Some people are early birds and find they’re at their most creative and productive in the early hours of the morning before most people even begin to stir! Others (the majority, in fact) thrive on the quiet of night - while some might find the typical 9 - 5 is perfectly suited to creative thinking.

The key is to find what working conditions work best for you - not only the hours that you work, but other things such as location, lighting, music (or silence!), the tools/equipment you use. Start thinking of yourself as an artist - you need everything to be perfect to perform your best!

Make time for creativity

Many people make the mistake of simply waiting for inspiration to strike, and therefore don’t see creativity as a skill that can be honed and developed when you need it. Try to re-frame the way you see your creative skills and actually make time for creative thinking.

If you have a job that requires large amounts of creativity, schedule out time for this in your diary - while it may feel strange to factor in ‘creative time’ at first, it takes the pressure off having a sudden burst of inspiration when you least expect it - which definitely isn’t a sustainable way to work!

Collaborate with others

As well as asking for feedback, collaborating with your colleagues and within your network can be a great source of inspiration. If you’ve been struggling to find creative solutions and ideas for a certain project, bringing in a trusted peer can be a fantastic way of boosting your creativity.

Sometimes, having someone else to bounce off and spark ideas can be extremely helpful - especially if you’ve been struggling with something in particular on your own for a while!

Set the Right Mood

A lack of ideas or being unable to solve a problem can be extremely frustrating.

Unless you value complete silence, music can be the thing to give your mood, and your creativity, a boost. Steve Jobs used music to change his moods and keep himself creative. It could work for you, too.

References

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/boost-your-creativity.html

https://www.inc.com/larry-kim/9-ways-to-dramatically-improve-your-creativity.html

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2016.1257049

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/boost-your-creativity.html

Staff Profile

Callum McGuigan- Teacher of English

After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Leeds, Callum joined the Teach First programme and taught in Leeds — where he worked towards improvements in behaviour and approaches to reading — before moving to Dubai. He was previously a KS3 Subject Coordinator. Alongside teaching, he is currently completing his MA in English Literature & Creative Writing at the University of Oxford, and intends to continue towards a PhD in a related field afterwards. He reads a lot.

Outside of school, Callum enjoys surfing and playing guitar, as well as learning to play golf (quite badly), and begrudgingly supporting Celtic FC. He also maintains a love/hate relationship with Ironman triathlons, and keeps signing up for them every year, even though every one is ‘the last one’. He is extremely appreciative of the travel opportunities offered living in Dubai, which have interested him since moving to Canada for a year before university. Callum particularly enjoys trips to South-East Asia and skiing in Europe in the winter.

Callum joined JAS in September of this year, having already spent four years teaching in Dubai. He is very much looking forward to integrating into the JAS community and is committed to supporting JAS students in their progress.

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