Volume 5 - Issue 14 Nissan 5774 -Mid April 2014 Spring Concert Musical talents shared Page 2 Message from the Headteacher Dear Parents As we reach the end of the Spring Term it is an opportune moment to look back over what has been a successful and packed few months. Our Sixth Form has been particularly busy with the usual high calibre of guest speakers and opportunities for visits. We have welcomed members of both houses of parliament, political strategists and captains of industry alongside leading university A Forum for Debate Talking their way to the Finals Pages 5 professors, communal leaders and Holocaust Survivors. Students have visited university campuses the length and breadth of the country, attended lectures, drama productions and field trips, whilst successfully navigating the UCAS applications process. In younger years students enjoyed our first visit to Budapest, we welcomed returning students from Kibbutz Lavi, participated successfully in various competitions including debating, poetry and chess. We Blossoming Businesses on Show The Girls team have it locked up Page 6 hosted Spanish and French Drama productions and neighbouring school students for Holocaust Seminars, Jewish Way of Life Exhibitions and a Jewish Museum World War I Seminar. We have run several Diversity and Life Skills seminars as well as a variety of careers activities. We have facilitated a busy term of parental education events with the second parental visit to Poland, a continuation of our Hebrew Reading and Bat Mitzvah preparation courses alongside numerous engaging and Continued overleaf Mr Zinger and Mr Sandford, together with the group The Locker Company, who were runners-up in the Brent Regional finals of the Young Enterprise Award and now proceed to the West London Finals.
stimulating lectures. We celebrated Purim with much gusto and enjoyed a tremendous day of celebration, capped off with our brilliant Purim Spiel (still available to view online). Our recent Spring Concert rounded off a busy term of activities in our Theatre and came shortly after some exceptional performances were witnessed in the assessed Drama practicals. Students began utilising our new climbing wall in the Gym and continued to perform exceptionally well in many sporting competitions. This was capped off with the recent Basketball success as featured in this edition of the Newsletter. Finally, parents were able to show their knowledge with the annual PTA Supper Quiz raising welcome funds for the School. The list above is merely a highlight of the massive volume of activities available for our students. It is also worth mentioning that many hundreds of lessons have also been taking place! Hard work, enthusiasm and perseverance have been key to another successful term of academic progress and achievement. In the last term we were once again recognised as one of the leading schools in the country, with an ALPS position of 7th nationally at A Level placing us in the top 1% of all schools. This is something that we should not take for granted and as our exam-age students look ahead to the coming months of diligence that are so crucial at this time, we look forward to seeing the fruits of their labours. I wish all students, staff and their families a Chag Kasher Ve Sameach, an enjoyable and restful Pesach break. Yours sincerely Jonathan Miller Headteacher A Night of Music The annual Spring Concert took place last week with over 80 students performing to a packed audience in the Theatre. Students were represented from all Year Groups and were involved either as soloists or in various ensembles. A wide variety of musical styles were performed ranging from Klezmer, to Modern Classical and Pop. The evening was also the end of an era for several Year 11 and Year 13 students for whom this was their last concert at JFS as they are shortly going on Study Leave. Many of these students have been regular performers since Year 7 and there was certainly a sense of nostalgia to the evening. All students excelled themselves in their performances, showing their musical talent and determination, which were much appreciated by the delighted audience. 2
Some of the Girls Text Group at the Kinloss Kollel. Yom Iyun at Kinloss Kollel Students in Year 9, who participate in the Jewish Studies Text Programme, recently had the opportunity to visit the Kinloss Kollel in conjunction with their Pesach studies. Over a two day period, over 50 students spent time learning all aspects of the upcoming festival and even had an opportunity to prepare divrei Torah (words of Torah) for Seder Night at home. One girl said I enjoyed the fact that the learning was in small groups and I could really focus on what I was learning. It was nice to do this in the kollel rather than school. Community Spirit continues to flourish Yoni Jesner was a warm, friendly and popular personality with his friends and within his community in Glasgow. An inspirational youth leader and role model, his life was tragically cut short when he was killed in a suicide bombing on a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel, in September 2002. The Yoni Jesner Awards Scheme was set up to honour Yoni and keep his memory alive with a focus on his community spirit across all age groups. The scheme honours the efforts of students who complete voluntary community service. The scheme encourages Jewish youth to be involved in the community and make a real difference to peoples lives, to inculcate in them a sense of responsibility at a young age as well as an awareness and appreciation of the values Yoni lived by and held so dear. Last week JFS students taking part in the Yoni Jesner Award Scheme visited the Sage old age home in Golders Green. They entertained the residents with songs and enjoyed interesting conversations with those present. The students enjoyed this visit and look forward to future activities that will be organised for them, to accumulate hours of volunteering, as part of their participation in this scheme. Exploring History The second group of JFS parents who participated in the Parental Poland Visit took part in a three-part series of lectures recently, related to the Holocaust. The Trials and Tribulations series took place at JFS with some thought provoking topics and excellent speakers. Sessions focussed on the trial of Eichmann (known as the architect of the Final Solution) and the enigmatic figure of Rudolf Kastner (who became known for facilitating the Blood for goods proposal which was supposed to help Jews escape Nazi-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust) whilst another explored the roots of Anti- Semitism. The sessions were given by the noted Historian and Lecturer Dr Charles Landau and the well-known lecturer on Jewish philosophy, Rabbi Shimshon Silkin. 3
A Balanced Approach at JFS I was fortunate enough, along with my peers in Year 13, to welcome four guests to our assembly for a panel debate about Israel, organised by the Sociology and Jewish Studies Departments. JFS prides itself on its Israel education, keeping Israel at the forefront of school to enhance the connection between us, students in North London, and the Jewish state. The school also revels in debate and discussion. For me, last week s assembly proved to combine these core elements of JFS to produce an assembly which is truly important for a Year Group who are about to leave the relatively sheltered life of school, many of whom will be going on to university later this year. The panel consisted of four people; Glyn Secker and Diana Neslen (from the humanitarian rights organisation Jews for Justice for Palestinians), David Walsh from BICOM (the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre) and Brendan O Neill (Journalist and editor of the online magazine Spiked ). They brought with them varying, and certainly conflicting, views and perspectives on Israel in relation to whether there are double standards with regards to Israel. I know, without a doubt, that nobody in the room agreed with everything that everyone said; after all, how could we? One half of the panel, Secker and Neslen, insisted that the international community is too lenient on Israel which they contend has committed atrocities in the past and continues to do so today, particularly in its treatment of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The other half, Walsh and O Neill however, ardently argued the very opposite; that Israel is judged too harshly, to the extent that it is demonised as a pariah state. This is despite its nature as a country which has more respect for democracy, fair treatment and the rule of law than other countries with comparable national security threats. Following the debate, the range of questions offered to members of the panel, both during the assembly and afterwards in Israel Society for those who wished to go, furthered the discussion and engaged us all. I m not the only one in my year who is acutely aware of the problems we are likely to encounter at university with regard to Israel. Some of the most vehemently toxic anti-israel rhetoric is radiated on university campuses through debates, rallies and the like. Some of the most vicious, and indeed libellous, smear campaigns, such as Israel Apartheid Week, were conceived in the highly politicised arenas of Higher Education. This is why I feel that events such as last week s panel debate are so crucial. It is no good going to university, unable to confront the barrage of criticism and even downright slander, of a country which I feel we are obligated to defend; certainly not to the point of blind acceptance of everything Israel does, but certainly to support the Jewish State s basic right to exist. How can a student who is ignorant of the facts and who has not been exposed to a variety of perspectives on the matters at hand, possibly combat any sort of assault on Israel which he or she is so likely to encounter? This debate was one of the most fitting ways in which JFS could prepare their students for such impending eventualities at university. There were moments during that debate where I found myself in whole-hearted agreement, moments when I found myself perplexed and bemused and moments when I felt incensed and frustrated. The more I think about this array of emotions I experienced, the more confident I am that this was an assembly worth sitting through. This debate reminded me that it is not at all helpful to listen to just one perspective on an issue; particularly if it is a perspective you are largely in agreement with and especially if the topic is so important. I hope to see more events like this in assemblies and Israel Society sessions, to prepare us all for university and indeed later life, so that we know about and can debate about Israel and the problems it faces. Joel Collick 13AM The guest panel addressing students in Year 13. 4
Her Honour, Judge Dawn Freedman addresses the students at the Debating Competition. A Time for Debate The Year 13 Assembly last week was the platform for the Sixth Form Debating Finals. The eight Semi finalists (Noah Lachs and Benji Hyer, Isaac Virchis and Ephraim Levinson, Oskar Hollinsworth and Benji Hilton and Daniel Rey and Joel Collick), School Mentoring Partnership ORT-JUMP (the Jewish Mentoring Programme) is aimed at 16 year old students in their first year of Sixth Form. The Programme matches the students with professionals in their chosen field of interest. The student and mentor meet six times during the academic year, and follow a set pattern for meetings. ORT-JUMP has been running successfully at JFS since its launch five years ago and when introduced to the whole of Year 12 at JFS in September. 100 JFS students signed up. The most popular represented industries have been Law, Finance and Medicine. Compared to last year there has been a significant increase in students interest in Engineering, Fashion and careers in Media. The ORT-JUMP team keep close contact with both students and mentors to ensure that all six meetings take place over the year. In July the students attend a Graduation Ceremony, where they receive a certificate for completing debated the idea of a ban on Page 3 of the Sun newspaper and introducing performance related pay for teachers. The final debate was fought with a motion to remove state funding from Faith Schools. The head of the judges, Her Honour Judge Dawn Freedman, commended the debaters, saying they were of the the programme, and the students who produce the best written work win a prize. In December ORT-JUMP hosted the first Jewish Careers Guidance Training session. We had participants from all the Jewish schools, and it was the first time that Heads of Jewish Sixth Forms sat down together to debate the issues arising around careers in Jewish schools. This network will now get together at least twice a year to try to highest quality she had seen in her eight years with the competition. Final victory fell, for the second year running, to Ephraim Levinson and Isaac Virchis, with Isaac once again winning best speaker. Congratulations to all the participants for their outstanding effort and success. ensure that the schools are kept up to date with the latest careers guidance information for particularly popular fields of industry. Finally, ORT-JUMP will be assisting the schools with their BTEC programmes commencing in September. We hope to provide partners in industry so that students can have real experience in the work place for the subject of the BTEC they are studying. For JFS this is Hospitality and Catering. 5
6 The Boys team, Huggers, representing JFS at the Young Enterprise Competition. Enterprising Business Ideas Young Enterprise is a programme that is geared towards Year 12 students. It allows students to set up and run their own businesses, selling their own innovative and original products. These teams are then pitched against other teams across London to see who has set up the most successful business. This year JFS has two teams. The boys team Huggers, led by Jack Bernard, sold t-shirts with unique and funny designs. The girls team The Locker Company, led by Paige Rose, sold locker accessory kits. Last week both teams participated in the Harrow and Brent Area Final at the Brent Civic Centre. The competition consisted of three stages. Initially each team s trade stand was judged by three Young Enterprise judges along with the Mayor of Brent and the Deputy Mayor of Harrow. A few members of each team were then rigorously interviewed by two officials about their 10-page company report that had to be prepared in advance. The last stage of the competition was a four minute presentation in front of an audience made up of the judges and all the members of the other teams. After this long process the judges discussed and deliberated resulting in awards to teams for things like best trade stand, best presentation, most innovative product, best report and of course overall runner up and winner from each borough. The JFS girls team won the award for runners-up for Brent and now proceed to the West London Finals. This will be held in May where we hope to see continued success. We congratulate both teams on their superb effort, with a particular mazel-tov to The Locker Company for bringing home some silver-ware for the awards cabinet. We would also like to thank Mr Zinger, who is responsible for guiding many teams over the years together with Mr Jonathan Sandford and Mr David Ackerman on their business acumen they have shared with our students. Official Opening Ceremony The official unveiling of the climbing wall in the PE Department took place last week in the presence of a number of dignitaries. JFS was granted 25,000 from the Wembley National Stadium Trust (WNST) to build the facility and, with the addition of a substantial grant from the JFS PTA, the School was able to complete this impressive addition to our students sporting opportunities. Attending the Opening Ceremony were Lord Toby Harris (Chairman WNST), Mr Stewart Goshawk (Chief Executive WNST), Mr Nick Bitel (Trustee WNST), Mr Martin Hall (Administrator WNST) and Mrs Diane Bronson (Vice Chairman of JFS PTA). We are grateful for this excellent new piece of equipment and know that our students will enjoy many hours of exercise and fun.
Baroness Morris with JFS students. A dedicated passion for Education Baroness Estelle Morris of Yardley is a Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley from 1992 to 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Education Secretary. She is admired for her lifelong career as a dedicated teacher and politician with an education portfolio that has spanned many years. Baroness Morris was our special guest at JFS when she addressed our entire Year 13 cohort followed by a smaller session with Politics students over lunch. She spoke about her own educational journey, the role of politics today and the impact it has on creating Education Policy. Students had the opportunity to ask many questions and were provided with an interesting insight into the life of politics. The abiding message of the Baroness was that passion and enthusiasm can affect society as a whole. A new perspective on English The English Department staged a GCSE Revision Conference recently covering English Language and English Literature for the whole of Year 11. The sessions were presented by professionals throwing light on aspects of the subject matter students should consider. The morning session focussed on GCSE English Language including tips on how to achieve an A* and what examiners are looking for with a number of examples to analyse. At lunchtime a Question and Answer session was held, followed by afternoon sessions on English Literature set texts. The comedy duo Scratch provided opportunities for light relief, fun and games throughout the day. 7
Talented Team The Basketball Semi-Final was a tough game! The 1st quarter ended 12-12 and by half time we were three points down at 22-25. At the end of the 3rd quarter we were one point down at 38-39. In the 4th quarter, with 10 seconds left, it was 57-57. The opposition called a time-out with possession then JFS shot on the buzzer and missed. Overtime began with the opposition losing their two best players. They were now six points ahead. We then managed to climb back to one point ahead. They scored with 10 seconds left, leaving them three points up. We missed on the buzzer to tie the game. The final score was 65-68, a really close game and a disappointment The talented JFS Basketball team to watch! for JFS who worked incredibly hard. The talent of this team was noted by compliments from three separate coaches who came up to Mr Bartram to commend how the boys played and their good attitude to the game. After narrowly losing the semi-final the boys were left with a tough challenge against Haberdasher s Askes Knights Academy (HAKA) in the Bronze Medal match. The game began much like the first ending in a two point lead to HAKA at 17-15 and a tie at half time at 34-34. HAKA s superior height advantage started to take its toll as they began to stretch away and at the end of the 3rd quarter they led by nearly 20 points. A final push and extra motivation from the bench to finish their long, hard season on a high and the final quarter was tied leaving HAKA with the coveted London Bronze Medal but the JFS boys with an achievement of their own. Ranked fourth in London they may now fittingly describe themselves as the greatest Basketball team JFS has ever produced. Next year, as they enter the Sixth Form, the boys will be linking up with another successful JFS Basketball team in the Senior Squad, in what looks to be an exciting future for Basketball at JFS. Congratulations to all the boys involved for their Herculean efforts and for gaining so many admirers along the way, from the opposition, parents and coaches alike. a time for success JFS School The Mall Kenton Harrow HA3 9TE Telephone: 020 8206 3100 Fax: 020 8206 3101 For the latest news and up to date information, visit our School website (www.jfs.brent.sch uk) www.facebook.com/jfsschool @JFSSchool 8