The Secondary Update May 23rd, 2013

THE ANNUAL JBS SPEECH COMPETITION

The winners of the annual JBS Speech Competition are:

Grade 6: Humza Qureshi Grade 7: Shefa Quazi Grade 8: Moaza Al-Mazrooei Grade 9: Zeyad Abbasi Grade 10: Abhinav Das Grade 10 EAL: Balint Andrasi Grade 11: Kimberlee Brinkman

We would like to congratulate Shefa Quazi and Kimberlee Brinkman who will represent JBS in the Taaleem Speech Competition on May 29th at AAM in the G7-9 and G10-12 groups respectively. The English Department sends their gratitude to the superb judges: Teachers: Mr. McMahon, Mr. Smith, Ms. Debbie Students: Jigyasa Choudhary and Tamara Lotta.

Humza Qureshi Shefa Quazi

Moaza Al-Mazrooei Zeyad Abbasi

Balint Andrasi

Kimberlee Brinkman Abhinav Das

¼ FINAL WIN FOR GIRLS U14 BASKETBALL AT JBS

After last week’s win, JBS was ready and raring to go! In training this week, the girls worked hard on the

accuracy of their shooting and their spacing on the court. It was time to see if that hard work would pay off. EIS

Meadows arrived with a team much taller than us. However, the team was determined not to be put off by it.

Tannaz commented on how she felt before the game “I thought we were going to lose. I did not feel

confident”. After the game Tannaz expressed how her feelings changed while she was playing. “Emma was

taking the ball easily, and we were scoring so I started to feel confident in us winning”.

Bianca said that “at the beginning of the game my confidence level was low because of how tall the opposition

was and how they were practicing. However, after noticing our teamwork at the start of the game, I told myself

not to deceived by their height. I think I played well, I scored lots of points for my team and I am really proud of

us”.

The whole team played extremely well and shown outstanding progress, more and more each time they step

on to the court! JBS has now advanced to the semifinals which will be played next week!

Grade 11 students are now well on the path that leads to the completion of the

Extended Essay. Students have all chosen their supervisors and have been meeting

with them on a regular basis. The students have been receiving guidance on

choosing a suitable topic and developing a research question. This is often the most

difficult part of the process, as it needs a question that allows a topic to be

researched in enough depth, but is still narrow enough for them to successfully

address it in 4,000 words.

In order to further support the students, they will all be individually presenting their

EE outline to a panel of teachers on the 23rd of May. This enables them to show

where they are in the process and also to receive feedback to support them even

more in moving forward in the process. We are looking forward to seeing the

interesting topics that the students have chosen to research. For further questions

about EE, please contact Mr. Cullen at wcullen@jbschool.ae.

THE EXTENDED ESSAY

In MYP, PE is an academic subject that has the same weighting as the other subject groups (Language A, Language B,

Sciences, Technology, Arts, Mathematics, Humanities and Arts).

Changing into the PE kit is essential for hygiene issue, safety, discipline and shows good organization skills. A

reminder that students are required to be in the correct uniform in order to participate in PE lessons. The correct

uniform includes a plain white t-shirt and black shorts or pants. Students who do not wear the correct uniform will

not be allowed to participate in PE. This will affect their final PE grade as they cannot be assessed in all the criteria.

PE UNIFORM

A representative from Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) did a presentation to our grades 10 and 11 students about the international universities available in Dubai. DIAC currently has 21 of the UAE's 37 International Branch Campuses. It is host to a large student community from 137 nationalities and has access to over 400 Higher Education programmes. They have formed academic partners with universities from around the world, which include the United Kingdom, USA, Australia, UAE, India, Pakistan, Europe, and many other countries. Universities that fall under its academic structure include Heriot-Watt, Hult International Business School, Michigan State, Murdoch and Middlesex to name a few. Many of our students were pleased to learn that they don’t have to travel far to gain an international education. For further information about DIAC, please visit http://www.diacedu.ae/.

GUEST SPEAKER FROM DIAC

Secondary students have received a revision booklet regarding the assessment week which will take place from June 2-6 for G6-8 and June 2-9 for G9-11. We have posted this booklet and the assessment schedule on Man-

agebac. Please note that due to the public holiday, exams that were scheduled for the 6th of June will now take place on the 5th of June for G6-11. If you have any questions about assessment

week, please contact Ms. Muhtaseb at zmuhtaseb@jbschool.ae.

G6—11 ASSESSMENT WEEK

The recent focus of learning for our Grade 10 students was to share their ‘voice’ by creating their own

persuasive podcast about an issue or message which is important to them. After identifying a persuasive

message the students researched and worked to craft persuasive sentences and structures which included;

convincing ideas, well thought-out arguments, supporting information, strong opinions, facts, opinions and

statistics, new vocabulary for that specific content area and persuasive techniques such as assertions,

generalities, emotive vocabulary and rhetorical questions. Listen to the podcasts at the following links and

see how persuasive they have been.

Anastasia’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/7aA4c2g5UNI

Balint’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/0-Tn6SLqy3E

Evgenia’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/SMaBHNirP34

Olesia’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/q4U0miQVOgY

Tobias’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/J6T7ErZLJl0

Tony’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/Zc0hznmEGO8

Yui’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/8xVj-C8L9BE

Yuka’s Podcast: http://youtu.be/uK6qHADd5HA

GRADE 10 EAL - PERSUASIVE PODCASTS

MYP Question: What celebrations are specific to my country?

GRADE 8 MTM

Bangla New Year

Bangla New Year is a festival in Bangladesh that takes place every year on the 14th of April. It is a huge festival

in Bangladesh and a public holiday. This day marks the New Year. Celebrating it with family and friends marks a

great start to the year.

We wake up early in the morning and wear new clothes. We all have to wear red and white. We eat special

food that includes our national fish dish and white rice. We then visit relatives, friends and neighbors. We also

visit the fair, where we play games and eat even more tasty food.

The New Year in my country is so much fun that I just can't put in words my feelings about this day. I miss cele-

brating this day in Bangladesh. By Shewly Aktar – Grade 8J - MTM

The winners, with their

sweet bag, Bailey,

Thomas, Carla and

Conor (he was hiding

MYP question: How can I communicate about my school community? Area of Interaction: Approaches to Learning

GRADE 6 FRENCH B PHASE 1 - UNIT :MON ÉCOLE

In French class, we learned vocabulary about “school” in a creative way. It was lots of fun from the start. My

team was called “la vache qui rit”. Each group had to prepare a list of 4 words related to “school”. My team had

l’informatique (ICT), la cantine (cafeteria), la leçon (the lesson) and un ordinateur (a computer). It was all ex-

citing. My team was the first to give the right answer for the hangman game in French (Le pendu). At first, it was

difficult, but after discovering some letters, we quickly determined the word to be “bibliothèque”. We had to be

careful in discussing the answers as not to give an advantage to the other groups. When it was our team’s turn

to give the word for hangman, we took the hardest word we had which was “un ordinateur”. The other team

was able to give the right answer. At the end of the game two teams won, “la vache qui rit” and “les sages”. It

was a great learning activity to help us with our French vocabulary. By Natalia Choudhary G6B

I have dreamt about going to Japan since I was 10 years old. Japan always seemed to me to be a country full of mysteries. Everyone has heard the different stories about samurais, temples, yōkai (Japanese ghosts). Of course, I wasn’t expecting to meet spirits, but wanted to see something spectacular. I was not disappointed! I arrived at 9pm on the 2nd of April 2013. The weather was rainy and cold, completely different from the weather in Dubai. Everything was so new. People were kind and polite. They were trying to keep everything as neat and tidy as they could. Even the incidental passers smiled to greet and welcome you to their country. I thought to myself that I had never met such a good-natured nation, and my opinion has not changed after my visit either. I couldn’t see the landscapes in the dark, so I couldn’t wait until the morning came, for me to see Japan in daylight. The bright sun met me and woke me and my family. I could already see Japan from our window. The beautiful cherry trees were everywhere, with their different shades of pink.. I was thrilled that we had come to Japan in the season of the blooming Sakura. The sky had a pink-orange color as well, but the most amazing thing was that on the horizon we could see the greatest treasure of the Country of rising sun – the Fiji Mountain. The next day we travelled to Tokyo. We went inside the Sensō-ji temple, which is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa. We took a fortune telling scroll that had a divination inside. Then, we went to Ueno garden, which is one of the most beautiful places in Tokyo, where you can see all the beauty of Sakura-trees. In the evening we were in the Chinese quarter in Yokohama and also in the Yokohama port. We also had a camping trip on the hydrogen sulfide springs. Locals boil

black eggs in these waters and there is a saying that if you eat eggs

cooked in this water, you will look five years younger. Japan is definitely

full of mystery, and I highly recommend it for a visit for everyone!

JAPAN - BY ANASTASIA ZUBAREVA GRADE 10J

Ueno Garden

Tokyo Street

The students worked in their houses to create inter-house banners that will be displayed in the secondary gym. The

students had to answer questions to earn paint, paper, scissors, paint brushes, pencils, etc to help them decorate

their banners. All the houses worked hard on the banners. Once the banners are hung in the gym they will be

judged, and winners will be awarded house points.

INTER-HOUSE BANNERS

SECONDARY JBS SUMMER CONCERT AND ART EXHIBITION INVITATION

Wednesday, June 12 at 18:00hr the Secondary JBS Summer

Concert and Art Exhibition will take place in the primary gym.

Art from selected classes will be displayed. Students who take

Performing Arts will have the opportunity to present pieces to

family and friends. This will also count as an MYP performance

assessment for the music classes. Each class will present a song

and there will also be some solo and small group performances.

Students are expected to be at the school by 17:45hr in their

clean school uniform, and to be seated in their assigned area of

the gym so that the performance will run smoothly. There will

be a separate seating area for family and friends. The art may

be viewed before and after the performance. We are looking

forward to seeing you.

It is never too early (or late) to help your child prepare for future success. As you plan for summer, here are some suggestions to keep kids

academically engaged and on track for university applications:

1. Read, read, read! Hot summer days are great for curling up in the AC with a good book. At the same time, your child will build

vocabulary, knowledge and writing skills that will help in school as well as on standardized tests. Quantity is more important than

quality, so let the kids explore their interests as much as they want.

But you can also guide them toward new interests by, for instance, pointing out the biography section of the library. They may find one

of their favorite sports stars or historical figures or learn about heroes and inventors they haven’t heard of.

As students approach high school, they should also try to read an occasional “classic.” These can be adventure stories by writers like

Jules Verne, Robert Lewis Stevenson, or Jack London, mysteries by Edgar Allan Poe or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or romances by

Louisa May Alcott or Jane Austen, to name a few. Your librarian would be happy to recommend a good classic novel that interests

you or your child.

Whether they bring home a stack of books from the library, or download to an electronic reader, cheer for your kids when they read.

It’s a great habit!

2. Explore interests. Sports, sciences, hobbies and the arts can be explored at length in the summertime. Camps, family field trips, and

home activities all help develop your child’s interest in the world, and give them abilities that they will use in the future. High

school students may use these experiences in their university applications.

3. Talk about the future. Ask a kid what they want to do when they grow up, and actively listen to the answer. It will probably change

from time to time, but you’ll hear certain themes emerge, such as an interest in healthcare, business, etc. Talk about your own job

and education experience, and where the young adult might want to attend college. Visit a university campus or two, so they can

see what it is like, and start to imagine themselves as college students.

If your child is approaching grades 11 or 12, college visitation is very important. If at all possible, plan a trip to the area where they will

attend university, and take tours of specific institutions. Choosing a college is a huge decision, and there is much information they

cannot get from a website.

4. Parents, do your homework! Start planning early for your financial support of college. In the US, financial aid packages look at

family income starting in January of grade 11, so you need to have your finances organized by then. There is a great book on this

topic in the JBS library. You can also find several books with information and checklists for parents to support the college search

process beginning in grade 9.

Your JBS Interim Guidance Counselor, Sharon Shepard, is happy to discuss any concerns you have about the college application process, and

help you and your child find answers to questions. Please contact her at guidance@jbschool.ae for an appointment or e-mail conversation.

GUIDANCE UPDATE—IS YOUR CHILD BOUND FOR COLLEGE?

The library will be very busy over the next 6 weeks returning library and textbooks as well as preparing for some construction that will happen in the building over the summer. To assist us, we need the cooperation from both students and parents. We have a large number of overdue library books signed out by secondary students that we would like returned as soon as possible. Would you please:

1. Check with their child/ren if they have a late library book to return 2. Check that they do not have duplicate textbooks at home and return them if they do 3. Return any books that you have borrowed as a parent.

Dates to remember:

1. June 13th - The library will be closed for circulation 2. June 13th- All library books to be returned 3. June 17th- Late notices will be sent home for books and fines owed 4. June 19th- All textbooks returned for grades 6 through 8 5. June 20st – All textbooks returned for grades 9 and 10

If your child is leaving the school earlier than those dates please ensure that all of their library and textbook materials have been returned. Kindly note that end of year report cards will not be issued if students do not return all of their books. If you have any further questions, please contact Mr. Godel at rgodel@jbschool.ae

A NOTE FROM THE LIBRARY

COMMUNITY & SERVICE

All students need to complete their semester two Community & Service activities and written reflections by June 10th. All of this information must be uploaded onto Managebac. Requirement for MYP Community and Service according to Grade Level is as follows: Grade 6- Have to complete two short projects per semester Grade 7 – Have to complete three short projects per semester Grade 8 – Have to complete four short projects per semester Grade 9 – Have to complete one long project per year and two short projects per semester OR one long project per semester Grade 10 – Have to complete one long project per semester AND two short projects per semester. If you have any further questions about the above requirements, please contact Ms. McCabe at jmccabe@jbschool.ae.

The first store operating days were a huge success last week. We appreciate all those who supported and assisted with getting it started. We will be holding more openings in late May and mid-June. Please look for announcements for the dates. There are a lot of uniforms in great condition for half the normal price. Please come out to the next opening and get your uniforms! We are continuously taking donations of gently used school uniforms for our store. Please place them in the tan containers which are located in the main reception area in the J-Building. Also, we are always in need of adult volunteers. Any assistance we can get is greatly appreciated (washing uniforms, sorting and inventory, running the store, ect.) Please contact a PFA member if you are interested in assisting. Thank you so much for your support!

JBS UNIFORM CONSIGNMENT STORE