The Secondary Update June 27 th , 2013 A MESSAGE FROM MRS. ELKADY The school year 2012-2013 has passed by so quickly that it is hard to believe that this will be the last Update of this school year. We hope that you have enjoyed reading this weekly to stay up-to-date with all the activities which have taken place in Secondary School. At times, we had so much to inform you about that we had to do so at a later stage as there was just too much. Even the last week of the school year was a busy one including the regional final of the World Scholars Cup, Science Fair, Primary Transition Day, JBS MUN, two fieldtrips as well as a presentation by a university. The two JBS teams which participated at the Scholars Cup did very well, and we are hopeful that one of the teams will make it to the global round which is to take place in the US this fall. The theme of both fieldtrips was sustainability, which the students learned about by visiting a local solar panel plant and an organic farm. This was also a week to say our goodbyes to colleagues and students who will be missed in the new school year. We wish them all the best. For those of you who will return to JBS, we hope you will be ready to make new friends from all over the world in September. All new JBS students are expected to start on September 1. If you are interested in having a head start regarding fulfilling your Community and Service requirements, please get in touch with me during the last week of August as you may be able to help out on this day. All returning JBS students are to start on September 2. Please be reminded to purchase a school uniform which is loose fitting and not too tight. This applies to the trousers as well as the shirt. We will not allow students to wear sweaters which are not part of the school uniform. Shoes should be black leather. Please shop for your uniform and shoes on time, so that you are all ready for the start of the new academic year. Finally, I would like to thank you all for your hard work this year and wish you an enjoyable summer, safe travels and a Ramadan Kareem.
WORLD SCHOLARS CUP The World Scholar’s cup is a competition for scholars all around the world, where they participate in teams of three. It includes 6 subjects, which the students have to divide between themselves and research. At the competition, the team’s knowledge is tested in two individual and two team events. To participate, students first have to qualify for the global round in the regional rounds held all over the world. Later in the global round, the top 100 teams are selected to go to New York, and compete in “The Tournament of Champions”, a much more challenging and demanding event. This year, JBS participated in the second Dubai round, and three of the five teams managed to qualify for the global rounds, which were also held in Dubai this year. In the Regional rounds, our teams were Parsa, Nicole and Carmel on one team and Zakaria, Zachary and Zaid on the other. These two teams qualified as well as the team of Henri, Shefa and Saasha. After the regional round, Carmel and Nicole couldn’t come to the global, so couldn’t Zaid, and Parsa joined Zakaria, Zachary. The Global round was a lot more challenging, since a selection of the best teams around the world were there. The team debates were the most challenging. We did well in the scholar’s challenge and essay writing. Unfortunately, on the second day Zachary got ill, and we had to do the debate without him. This made it a lot harder because one speaker had to go twice, but we still managed to win one debate. Overall, we learned and made a lot of new friends from all around the world. We also managed to get 6 th place in the “Collaborative Writing” out of about 500 teams. We still do no know if we qualify for the “Tournament Of Legends”, as they will tell us by email soon, but even if we didn’t qualify, we had a lot of fun and made new friends. By: Parsa Lalianpour, Zakaria Nayed - Grade 8
SECONDARY END OF YEAR ASSEMBLY
SECONDARY END OF YEAR ASSEMBLY
THE GRADE 10 AND 11 SOLAR PANEL FIELDTRIP
For several months, I have had ties with the Emirates Solar Industry Association, which I had approached to provide information to a report I was writing on Solar Energy in the UAE for my Personal Project. About a month ago, they provided us with a unique opportunity to take a group of JBS students on an excursion to see and understand a reallife solar installation in action. Some of the Grade 10 Physics and Grade 11 students came along on the 23 rd June. We were guided by Mr. Vahid Fotuhi, the president of ESIA, and other members of the ESIA and technical experts. We were taken to the roof where we got a chance to see the panels (which provided for a large portion of the building’s energy) as well as the batteries (for storing energy) and inverters (for converting DC current to AC current). Although I had already conducted thorough research on the topic and I had seen a solar installation before, I felt a thrill in sharing my experience with my peers. And despite knowing most of the facts, I still learned quite a few new things and refreshed my memory. Although it was stiflingly hot outside, it was all worth it, and a great experience for everyone. I had the opportunity to touch base with old contacts and get a chance to possibly help out in the summer. Our excursion was covered by a news reporter, and I had the chance to have a one to one interview, which allowed me to practice my communicative and expressive skills. We were then quizzed on our knowledge and many of my fellow students had absorbed a lot from the excursion and asked several interesting questions – though I won of course! Although the trip lasted less than 2 hours, we all returned to school tired, hot, satisfied and a little more knowledgeable than before. As our generation is ultimately the world’s future, a little exposure to the future use of energy couldn’t do any harm! By Abhinav Banerji Das - Grade 10
CONGRATULATIONS TO ABHINAV DAS Congratulations to Abhinav Das who will be starting a summer internship program at Emirates Solar Industry Association (ESIA). His research paper, where he did an extensive study on the feasibility of solar panels in UAE residential homes, gained a lot of recognition in the alternate technology industry. ESIA has informed Abhinav that his report would make a good handbook for young professionals who are interested in the UAE solar market. He will be working with ESIA this summer to review the document and then get it published. Excellent job Abhinav!
SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS This year’s winners of the JBS Grade 8 Science Fair Project are: For Best Science Fair Project according to our esteemed judges: Phillip Du Plessis placed third for his volcano experiment. Omar Adala and Sakibullah Saderkhail placed second for their spicy food experiment. There was a tie for first place: Ali ibrahem, Parsa Lilianpour & Zakaria Nayed for their sterling engine experiment (seen in the above photo), and Fadhel Al Mazrooei for his solar powered bike! For Most Popular Science Fair Project as voted by Grades 6 and 7: With 5 votes Louis van der Sandt placed third for his Pinhole Camera experiment. With 12 votes Omar Adala and Sakibullah Saderkhail placed second for their spicy food experiment. There was another tie for first place. With 15 votes each, Fadhel Al Mazrooei for his solar powered bike and Laura Aschi for her slime experiment! Congratulations to our 2013 Science Fair winners!
THE JBS MODEL UNITED NATIONS
I participated in JBSMUN 2013 as an admin. I was familiar with the delegate’s role, but I was inexperienced on the admin’s role in the conference . Therefore I wanted to see how it feels like to be an admin. I wouldn’t say it was hard, but I had to keep an eye on the delegates for the entire time , which at times was not very exciting. We had to move around a lot, help out the delegates out , and see what they needed. By Moaza Al Mazrooei - Grade 8
GRADE 9 AND 11 TRIP TO AL DHAID FARM We visited the fish farm this past Monday. I was surprised to see a variety of animals such as goats, geese, birds peacocks and fish. We observed how dates were picked from the tree. We learned how the farm animals were looked after and about the different breeding methods. Even though the weather was hot, we were supplied with loads of water and we had a lot of fun together. We are really grateful to have been given such a good opportunity to visit the fish farm in the desert, and we cannot wait to come back there again. Thank you to Mr. and Ms. Abbasi for showing us the day to day workings of the farm and for their warm hospitality. By Kamilla and Jade - Grade 9
GRADE 9 AND 11 TRIP TO AL DHAID FARM
REFLECTION OF EAL THIS YEAR This is my first year where I have studied English in a country where most of the people speak English; in this school we have an opportunity to improve our English in EAL classes (English as Alternative Language). At the beginning of my time in JBS, I was confused, I didn’t know how to behave or how to speak English. When I did something wrong like eating a gum in a lesson I was confused and wondered what had happened. In Italy we had different rules so when I had to go in the reflection room I was embarrassed and I didn’t understand why. At that point I decided to review and learn the school rules. When people were speaking English, to me, the words were like when you listen to music, or sing and repeat songs but most of the time you don’t know what they are saying or talking about. In EAL we did a lot of things; for example I learnt how to describe detailed pictures using new and different words. From this I also learnt how to take a small, particular part of a detailed picture and transform it into a story. We also concentrated on learning about how words can contain different meanings and what facts and opinions are. The part that I didn’t prefer was when we did a lot of newspaper articles and spent a long time on these, but only now I can understand how this was important and that I learn a lot from it. My favorite part was when we had to speak about something in a required time limit. The first time I did this I made a lot of mistakes but by the second time my way of speaking was much better. The subject is liked most of the time by people, mainly because of how the teacher is. I am very lucky that my teacher is kind, nice and friendly with all of the students. I like EAL because we work and concentrate on what we think, our capacity to and style or tone of speaking. I will continue to practice my English this summer, even if I go to Italy because I have to be prepared for next year. I will improve in the entire subject by improving my English. I will be very happy to study chemistry, biology and physics, so I am looking at some books for next year and I have seen how hard it is; but with pre-reading and reviewing what I will be learning and by concentrating on practicing my English as well , I think it will be simple and interesting! By Laura Aschi Grade 8
G8 DESIGN TECHNOLOGY Unit Question : How can I design and package a game that has been influenced by a chosen designer? The students investigated iconic designers. They used their research to design a unique game to be played by six players. The game had to be influenced by their chosen designer. The packaging was made out of plywood and was created in the workshop. The lid and the pieces were made using CAD CAM. And the dice was also made in the workshop. They learnt graphic skills, Computer Aided Design and manufacture and technology workshop skills. Great results!
G8 DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
THE JBS UNIFORM CONSIGNMENT STORE JBS Uniform Consignment Store huge success!!! We have received great feedback for our consignment store. The hope is that in the near future we will be able to also offer JBS memorabilia for purchase to display our school spirit. Currently WE NEED YOUR UNIFORM DONATIONS!!! As school nears the end, please go through your child's/ children's uniforms and donate those gently used ones that are no longer needed. There are two tubs in the front office in the J-Building, marked for primary and secondary. Please drop them off between now and the first week after school ends so we can start preparing our inventory for next year. Thank you for your support and have a great summer.
G6 SCIENCE: TURNING COPPER INTO GOLD In G6 science class, we turned a copper coin into “gold”. We put the copper coin in vinegar and salt. We washed it in water and dried it. Then we put the coin in zinc powder and heated it up using the Bunsen burner. The coin turned silver. Then we washed it again and dried it. It was heated over the Bunsen burner and turned a bit yellow. When I put it in water, it turned into a beautiful gold colour. Zinc and copper melted together to form the alloy brass. By Ananya Anthony In the coin lab, I was excited when I saw the title “turning copper into gold”. When we dipped the copper coin into salt and vinegar, the coin became shiny and clean. Then we mixed the coin with zinc and it became silver in colour. When it came out silver I was so excited to move to the next step. When we put the silver coin into the Bunsen burner it started going brown, and as soon as we put it in water, it went gold. It was like magic. I loved the whole experience and it was a great way to end grade 6 science . By Natalia Choudhary
A MESSAGE FROM MS. MUHTASEB It has been an emotional month, having to say goodbye to people that I consider my family. Making the decision to go back to Canada to do my Masters in Education and to spend time with family was not an easy one. Every Wednesday evening, I finalize the Secondary Update that Ms. Asad sends my way. And every week, I am amazed at the talents and accomplishments of our students. I look forward to reading the updates in the next school year because I know that JBS students will continue to impress and to inspire. To JBS students, wherever your future leads you, know that your teachers are watching and cheering for you. I look forward to hearing updates from your lives, so please keep in touch (zmuhtaseb@yahoo.com). Thank you to my colleagues, students and parents for all that they have taught me, and I wish everyone a safe and happy summer break and a Ramadan Kareem.