The Junction

Friday 4 November 2022

A Note From Mrs Sims

Grit - The power of passion and perseverance

In the words of the late George Michael, mixed with a dose of positivity: ‘You’ve got to have grit’.

When I first heard the term ‘Grit’ many moons ago, my first thought was the stuff you put down on roads which stops ice and snow forming and causes existing snow or ice to melt. I did not realise that the act of telling somebody they have ‘Grit’ is a compliment, as it shows the person has courage and strength of character. Please rest assured my piece this week is not about helping icy roads, but is to talk about the ‘Grit of JAS’.

What do I mean by the ‘Grit of JAS’?

This past week we have seen our very first Taaleem Review, where not only was it our outstanding staff that showcased their excellent subject knowledge, but also our students. Teachers provided thorough lesson planning that challenged our students and, above all, demonstrated the excellent relationships we have with our students. Our phenomenal JAS students also demonstrated real ‘grit’ to our inspectors and staff.

Margaret Perlis’s article ‘5 characteristics of grit - how many do you have?’, funniliy enough links ‘Grit’ to 2 of our JAS values - Resilience & Excellence. Perlis states that the key component of grit is resilience. Resilience is the powering mechanism that draws your head up, moves you forward and helps you persevere despite whatever obstacles you face along the way. I believe that both our students and staff here at JAS do this day in day out without even knowing, sprinkled with some JAS magic!

Back in 2019, a former colleague introduced me to Angela Duckworth’s book and Tedtalk about ‘Grit’. Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed, be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people, that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.”

Tedtalk - Angela Duckwork

Why do some people succeed and others fail?

August 2021, my very first Year 11 cohort at JAS received their GCSE results for Spanish; and I could not have been more proud of their grades. I took a step back and reflected on how the students achieved the end result. We had a difficult two years: Covid, online-teaching, close contacts, my maternity leave, TAGs rather than GCSE external examinations, the list is endless. Grit. Grit is what drove that class. Yes, we may have faced obstacles along the way, the path was not always easy, but there was passion and persistence, by not only the students but also myself, to strive for success.

Another of our values is ‘Growth-mindedness’ and Grit can also link to this as a ‘Grit mindset’. A ‘Grit mindset’ refers to a student's ability to persist after setbacks. Grit is related to mindset in that if one believes that failures are due to their fixed traits, there is no reason to try again. Conversely, individuals with growth mindset are more likely to be resilient and have more grit. To recognise mistakes and try again until they reach success, to do what all ambitious athletes, dancers, artists, writers, accountants, lawyers and pilots do - keep striving for eventual success through learning from failure.

My son is in his second year of JAS and loving life in FS2; I can whole-heartedly agree that this Grit mindset is being encouraged and embedded throughout the whole community. As he is only 5, and can only read a few words I know he won’t be reading this. Stanley is not a very confident swimmer, he lacks confidence in water, which has impacted his overall progress in swimming. However, through this grit mindset set out by our amazing staff at JAS, Stanley has become a more confident swimmer (he is no Michael Phelps, just yet), he has been encouraged to be more resilient and to believe that he can improve by having more ‘grit’.

Why should we all have grit?

Our students before the half-term break and during the past two weeks may have been sitting their first set of assessments for this academic year and may not have achieved what they set out to. Research indicates that the ability to be gritty, to stick with things that are important to you and bounce back from failure, is an essential component of success independent of and beyond what talent and intelligence contribute (Duckworth 2016).

Grit is important because it is a driver of achievement and success, independent of and beyond what talent and intelligence contribute. Being naturally clever and talented are great, however to do well and thrive, we need the ability to persevere and not give up. In the wise words of the lovely blue fish Dory in Finding Nemo ‘Just Keep Swimming’.

It does not matter where we are in life, from FS to Secondary, from staff to Middle Leadership to Senior Leadership, without grit, talent may be nothing more than unmet potential, it is only with effort that talent becomes a skill that leads to success.

‘You’ve got to have grit’.

Wishing you all a pleasant and restful weekend.

Mrs Sims

Assistant Headteacher for Learning & Teaching

Week in Review

Year 9 are learning Frantic Assembly’s style of ‘Physical Theatre’ this half term. We had a lot of fun exploring some fundamental elements of the style! Physical theatre relies heavily on actors' focus and commitment, strong and precise body movements, and being able to work as an ensemble of actors!

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Year 10 are now exploring the set text for GCSE Drama, Blood Brothers, and Section A of the written exam. This section requires the students to have knowledge of different roles within the theatre and being able to identify them, stage positions and stage configurations. See the students working hard on ‘Pink Day’ in their theory lesson on stage positions!

Do you know your stage positions?! Take the quiz!

Secondary Production - Oliver!

Oliver! 2023 - Week 7 in Rehearsals

Check out our band in practice with cast members, Zidane and Bethany, singing their duet THAT’S YOUR FUNERAL!

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Cast List

Director - Ms. R Channon

Musical Director - Mr. A Laird

Assissant Director - Miss. K Hansford

Choreographer - Mr. S Sonsin

Stage Manager - Yasmina Habib (Year 11)

If you need to contact any of the Production Team please do so via schoolproduction@jebelalischool.org

Secondary Production Google Classroom: Aztar5o (students only)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOAN7c63VxWtrfERmudXEBtof80VIm_xHh6r0RgJHE_mQdbw/viewform Rehearsal schedule is updated on GC every Friday afternoon for the following week. Please check this weekly to see when you are needed in rehearsal.

Rehearsal Times

Monday 12.50pm-13.15pm

Wednesday 3.30pm-5.00pm

Thursday 06.50am-7.20am

In Art, Year 9 art students have been planning their giant food sculptures by photographing the food item they are planning to create and then sketching it from different angles. The sculptures are based on the fabulous work of sculptors Claes Oldenburg, Robin Antar and Peter Anton. We are excited to see the plans come to life in the coming weeks!

Our A-Level Art studentshave been photographing food items, as a primary resource for their venture into 3D media. They considered colour and composition in their photos, using our studio lights as well as daylight. Beautiful work!

Business

This week the year 12 Business students went to primary to work with the year 6 students. They spent time helping the younger students develop a mission statement for their charitable organisations project. This was a great experience for all involved and it was wonderful to see the year 12’s take on their teaching roles with such professionalism.

Psychology

GCSE Psychology students learned about non-verbal communication this week. They learned about eye contact, body language, posture, personal space and touch and the functions of these behaviours. They worked collaboratively to teach each other their concepts and took part in a range of practical activities to embed their learning. They found it difficult to sit on their hands and maintain a neutral expression while discussing a subject they feel passionately about. They also tried out a range of distances between them while chatting and found that Hall’s “intimate zone” of 45 cm apart was too close to be comfortable.

A Level Psychology students enjoyed learning about phobias this week. In addition to learning about the different types of symptoms of the disorder and the many types of phobias, they applied their knowledge of the Behaviourist Approach to give a possible explanation of how phobias are formed. They then used the therapy method of systematic desensitisation to create fear hierarchies and to cure their peers of their phobias.

Inclusion

We are pleased to invite JAS parents to an interactive session with Insights Psychology on Friday, 11th November at 8am. This is an information/support session for parents of children with Autism (and anyone else who wishes to attend).

Insights will be covering information on common traits, advice on strategies of support, acceptance of diagnosis and networks to join.

To attend this event, please register in advance: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFFbRf0Cexq3RXqO-e88cPGb87f4NdJwtzkcJlmpvC-3a0TQ/viewform?hl=en

JAS Secondary Sport

Please see a reminder below of any key documents you need for any information regarding JAS Sport.

Dubai Netball Youth Sevens

On Friday 28 October our U11, U13 and U15 JAS netball teams competed in the second round of the youth sevens. The U13 played their hearts out against the Dubai College A team, never giving up and showing amazing resiliance. They sailed into the plate final after finishing 5th in their table and I am so excited to see them take on JPS in the plate final at the Dubai Sevens!

The U15 team had a difficult first game, however they showed grit and resilience throughout the whole game, going for every ball and always trying their best. In the plate semi-final the U15s played against WSO in an exciting, albeit stressful, end to end game. The team had some excellent moments, particularly from Molly, Retaj and Stella in defence, and some cool and calm shooting from Connie and Tiia ensured our place in the plate final with a 5-3 victory. We’re so excited to see them play at the Dubai Sevens and are so proud of what they have achieved so far.

Swimming Squad

Our swimming squad had a depleted team this week due to the Year 7 camp which saw many of our swimmers swimming more races than usual. A special mention to Sonny, Jasmine, Connor, Sophie and Max, Issy and Grace who swam up to 8 races each on Wednesday afternoon. The whole team were absolutely fantastic and extremley supportive of each other throughout the whole competition.

Football Highlights

On Tuesday afternoon the U12 football squads competed across 3 matches with the U12B girls winning their first game 3-1 against GEMS founders, the U12A girls losing out 1-2 to repton, and the U12 boys losing out to GEMS metropole with a special mention to Oscar for her fantastic performance in goal.

Basketball Highlights

The U19 basketball teams had 2 close games this week with the JAS boys just losing out 34-39 and the JAS girls taking the win 32-19.

Rounders Highlights

The U19 girls rounders teams played their first rounders fixture in DAMAC park this week! A huge thank you to DAMAC for accommodating us, it was a fantastic evening! The JAS girls played a very slick game with their fielding tactics spot on. JAS lost narrowly 6-8.5 to DC with lots of takeaways for our batting strategies moving forwards.

What’s On - JAS Secondary Sport - WC 7 November

JAS PE

We have had an excellent start to PE this year at JAS, it has been brilliant to see our students throwing themselves back into lessons with enthusiasm. Students in Key Stage 4 have enjoyed a block of work on basketball where they developed their skills alongside their knowledge and understanding of the rules, allowing them to plan and execute a tournament independently. It was fantastic to see students challenging themselves to officiate on the table as well as refereeing the games.

Alongside the basketball unit of work, students also had one lesson each week in the swimming pool where they covered a variety of topics including fitness, personal survival and waterpolo. It was great to see students developing their skills and working hard while also having fun at the same time, something that was particularly evident in the personal survival scheme of work completed by Year 10 and Year 11 students. They learned how to make a float of their clothing, mastered the art of treading water and also developed their confidence when swimming with their clothes on. At the end of the block, students participated in a personal survival assessment which they all completed, well done!

Dubai Fitness Challenge

This week there have been some exciting activities happening. During primary break time and secondary lunchtime, the Heads of Houses have been hosting a 30m sprint challenge to make sure each and every student has an opportunity to take part in the Dubai 30x30 Challenge. This week, we have had over a hundred students participating, an incredible turn out for our first week of the challenge! We want as many people involved as possible, so dust off your trainers, put your competitive hat on and bring a friend along to take part in the events! Every time you participate, you will receive one house point for your house and the top houses will receive bonus points. Each Head of House wants as much participation as possible to gain as many points for their house as they can!

These competitions will be running throughout the next month and each week the activity will change. Next week we will be finding out who can do the most speed bounces in 30 seconds. The question is, are you up for the challenge? We cannot wait to see all of you on the field next week, so get your jumping boots on and get practising!

Sincerely,

Your Heads of Houses

The results of this week’s Secondary School 30m sprint challenge:

The Top 5 from Secondary are…

Air 4.20

Water 4.29

Air 4.30

Earth 4.46

“Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb but how well you bounce”

Tigger

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Living in the Online World

Online Safety Courses for Parents

Dear Parents,

The online world is posing an ever-increasing risk to children, and it is important that schools, parents and carers work together to take an active role in teaching children about online dangers. Learning how to act safely when using the internet is an incredibly important part of safeguarding our children.

A reminder that as a Jebel Ali School parent you now have access to a fantastic online safety resource. The National Online Safety platform includes a range of courses, explainer videos and guides to help you learn more about the online world and applications that your child has access to. Below are some age-appropriate courses that we highly recommend you complete.

Annual Certificate in Online Safety for Parents & Carers of Children aged 3-7
Annual Certificate in Online Safety for Parents & Carers of Children aged 7-11
Annual Certificate in Online Safety for Parents & Carers of Children aged 11-14
Annual Certificate in Online Safety for Parents & Carers of Children aged 14-18

To create your account, please follow this link and complete your details. When you’re set up, you’ll be able to set ‘Parent/Carer’ as your user type.

You can access National Online Safety online via any device- including via their brand-new smartphone app. To download the app, please go to: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/national-online-safety/id1530342372 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationaleducationgroup.nos

Alternatively, search for ‘National Online Safety’ in the App Store/Google Play Store.

Kind regards,

Ben Parnell

Deputy Headteacher - Care & Wellbeing / Designated Safeguarding Lead

Looking Ahead

International & Residential Trips 2022-2023

We are extremely excited to share with you the upcoming international and residential trips for the 2022-2023 academic year. These experiences are subject to the number of students who sign-up. Below you will find the dates, a brief description, and approximate costs. Further information will follow.

PTA

Helpful Hints

How to succeed in Design & Technology Projects

The DT@JAS curriculum 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 4 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 to 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 project and using tools - “measure twice, cut once!”.
The best projects always include a range of materials, try to challenge yourself by adding a new material or process to your DT work each term.

Evaluate

Honesty is important here, if it went wrong, tell us! Your reflection 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 in creating successful projects in DT!

Simon Kuznetsov

Head of Design & Technology

Article of Interest

Resilience - a JAS Value

With most personality values, we can debate whether we are born with these values or if we are taught these values (nature vs nurture). Personally, I believe in both. You may inherit your grit and determination from your biological parents, which will make you naturally lean towards “not giving up”. However, I also believe that if a child is taught to embrace failure, they are more likely to grow in resilience.

Resilience can be learned and taught like any other skill. It takes practice, patience, belief and support to learn to embrace this personality trait. It can be extremely difficult to watch our children go through disappointing situations and it is all too easy to use excuses to help them feel better. However, it not beneficial for children to be excessively shielded from life’s disappointments and challenges.

It is so easy to give up after failing, but looking towards a target and believing that bettering yourself (in an attempt to achieve targets is the best way forwards.

Tips for building resilience in children and teens:

Teach children to make and maintain strong connections with peers and family.
Help your child to “help themselves” - find a solution.
Maintain a good consistent routine. Habits are important.
Accept when you need to Take a Break (when it is all too much) in an attempt to reduce anxiety.
Teach your child self-care.
Work towards a measurable goal.
Teach your child to believe in themselves. They can do this!
Maintain and healthy outlook. Don’t sweat the small things. Gain perspective.
Reflection after past failure - what have you learnt?
Teach them to accept that they may be at fault - your child may need to change.

Big Life Journal has suggested a list of books that help children learn about Resilience. Learning about inspirational stories can help encourage resilience in itself.

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Ref: American Psychological Association

N Osman

Head of Year 8

Student Focus/Highlight

Lighthouse Arabia Psychology Internship: 17-21 October 2022

Over the half-term break, I was chosen from a huge pool of applicants around Dubai to participate in the Lighthouse Arabia job-shadowing program. This program provides Sixth Form students with the unique opportunity of working in a professional environment to learn more about Psychology in practice. The Question and Answer sessions with Lighthouse Arabia psychologists - specifically with Dr. Saliha Afridi, the founder and director of Lighthouse Arabia - were extremely interesting as they explained their personal opinions and experiences within their area of Psychology. Additionally, the program allows students to learn more about the types of Psychology - such as Neuropsychology and Forensics - from the interns working at the clinic. To learn more about Child Psychology, we also played board games Lighthouse Arabia has created as a strategy of play therapy, which was a fun and interesting experience.

Myra Arora

12LSJ

Staff Profile

Megan Ratcliffe - Maths Teacher

Ms Ratcliffe joined us this year as a Maths teacher. Ms Ratcliffe is originally from a small town called Wokingham in Royal Berkshire. She studied Mathematics and Economics at The University of Sheffield before completing her PGCE in Mathematics as a participant in the Teach First Leadership Development Programme at Sheffield Hallam University. Once qualified Ms Ratcliffe taught for six years in West Yorkshire, where she loved living in Leeds which is a vibrant northern city. In her final role in the UK she worked as a Lead Practitioner with The White Rose which is the leading education research charity in the UK. Her time with White Rose developed her pedagogy and understanding of mastery in Mathematics, something she tries to develop in all my pupils.

Prior to working at JAS Ms Ratcliffe worked at Nord Anglia School Dubai for three years where she taught both A Level and IB Mathematics at post 16. She decided to move to JAS as she wanted to work in a school with a strong sense of community and a family atmosphere and is pleased to say JAS has lived up to all her expectations.

Megan says of the JAS values:

“Kindness. It ensures everyone feels seen, included and secure. Showing kindness is the easiest way to make someone feel happy and I believe a happy school makes a happy child.”

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