The latest news from JCoSS

Gove says JCoSS is a credit to the community

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education came to the UK's first cross communal secondary school JCoSS last Thursday to meet students and observe lessons. His first stop was a meeting with members of the JCoSS student parliament, including JCoSS's own Secretary of State for Education, Lucinda in Year 8, as well as Prime Minister Indigo and Deputy Prime Minister Zachary both from Year 7. The students presented to Mr Gove the parliament achievements from the past year and Mr Gove noted with interest their favourite lesson - a History lesson with a difference where the students played a version of Deal or No Deal. Mr Gove then observed two lessons - a Science lesson and an English lesson. He also visited the PSRP, JCoSS's unique provision for students on the autistic spectrum.

Mr Gove said " I was delighted to visit JCoSS and see for myself the outstanding achievements that the school has made. I observed two lessons and was very impressed with the pupils, facilities and quality of teaching. I was also delighted to meet members of the student parliament - an impressive group of young and confident students, especially as they are only Year 7 and 8. It is clear that JCoSS is an excellent school and credit to the community."

Gifted and Talented Programme at JCoSS

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

JCoSS is a high achieving academic school, providing an outstanding programme for our many Gifted and Talented students. We are delighted by the results that our G&T students are showing and it is exciting to see them being stretched and challenged, both in the traditional classroom setting and beyond.

All students on our G&T core register have a meeting with the Gifted and Talented Lead Teacher every term to discuss their Individual Education Plan. The plan considers their future hopes, aims and ambitions as well as their feelings about their lessons and the challenge provided within them. All of their teachers then receive a copy of each individual plan so that everyone is working towards a common goal. Each student on the G&T register is able to have an adult mentor who they meet up with once a fortnight to discuss progress in each subject area and how they maximise achievement and enjoyment, plus create a good work-life balance.

Setting takes place in the majority of the curriculum, and students are identified as to whether they have a gift in a particular subject. The key to a successful Gifted and Talented programme is that different work is set for students with abilities, rather than just additional work. For example Y8 students on the French G&T register only talk in French during their entire lesson and top sets in Y8 English read more demanding texts.

Beyond the classroom, the programme is very varied. There have been many events to stretch our Gifted and Talented students such as participating in The Times Spelling Bee competition, organising an Architecture Day for G&T students in DT, Humanities, Maths and Science, producing the BBC school report in English and enhancing team building and problem solving skills in Ashbridge Forest to name a few.

JCoSS Student Parliament

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Most schools have a School Council but in our first year, JCoSS decided to set one up with a difference! Ours has now been running for four terms under the name 'Student Parliament', which mirrors the UK system from MPs to the Prime Minister and Deputy. Students not only have a voice in key elements of school life but they are also simultaneously learning about the way our parliamentary system works; form groups are constituencies, students running departments are secretaries of state, all student representatives are MPs and the head teacher is the monarch (needless to say, with clear differences in power).

Each department last year (ranging from the Department for Education to the Department for Health) worked on their own projects e.g. making learning more interactive, improving awareness of healthy eating and choices, choosing three charities to support and running inter-form competitions. Additionally, they responded to consultation from senior leadership such as the nature of the link books (home-school diaries), the timings of the school day and even met and spoke to various politicians and OFSTED inspectors.

Our students are trained to chair their own meetings; complete with agendas and minutes and make decisions that have a positive impact on the school. Possibly the most exciting achievement of our first year was the Sports Day, Jamy Bristol James, last year's Prime Minister says, "Last year's parliament was a huge success. We became a community and I hope that future parliaments will be able to do the same and improve the school for the better. My favourite aspect of the year was Sports Day because we came together to work on something that would benefit school students."

Student Parliament contributed to Sports Day by surveying the student body to find out which sports students wanted to include (Department for Sports), organising a fancy dress 'Fun Run'(Department for Business and Communities), for which they organised a sponsorship programme to fundraise for our chosen charities (Department for Culture and Media). At the end of the fun run environment top tips were handed out on a laminated card to attach to students' sports bags (Department for the Environment. At break and lunch there was a healthy baking tuck shop - our serious bakers had entered a 'healthy bake-off' competition - Masterchef style (run by the Department for Health). Our five star students baked up a storm and proceeds went to our charities. An alternative to one of the sessions, in the spirit of inclusion was a race-against-time treasure hunt, planned and facilitated by our Department for Education). It was thrilling to see how creative, organised and competent our parliamentarians can be - truly the leaders of tomorrow.

We now have a brand new Student Parliament which is populated by both year groups. Our new Prime Minister is Indigo Smith who says, "I hope we can get out of this year as much as last year's Parliament achieved, as they did really well. I hope to work well with everyone in this year's Parliament and for everyone to bring their ideas to the table." Our new Deputy Prime Minister is Zachary Letzer equally excited about the year to come, "I am really looking forward to working with everyone involved in the Student Parliament, I am positive that everyone has great ideas they can contribute to discussions, I hope to finish the year knowing I've achieved our goals. I'm delighted to be given this privilege - I feel excited to be able to make a difference." If last year is anything to go by, what a difference they will make.

Members of the student parliament have met a number of leading politicians themselves, including Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education; Ed Balls Shadow Chancellor; and Ed Miliband Leader of the Opposition who said "I was not really as impressive as you at that age and I would encourage you to go into politics."

Informal Jewish Ed and Social Action at JCoSS

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This academic year has seen lots of excitement at JCoSS in terms of our informal Jewish education and social action programme. We began the year with celebrations of the festivals which included inviting special guests into our sukkah, writing apology notes for Yom Kippur and making honey cake for a homeless shelter for Rosh Hashanah. The year continued with a celebration of Mitzvah day. Students donated hats and scarves to World Jewish Relief and attended a special tea party at the Jewish Blind and Disabled Residence. We launched our Nosh and Natter programme which involved students enjoying lunch and being inspired by the top Rabbis and educators in the country.

The Yoni Jesner Launch was an epic success with more students than ever signing up to be part of the programme. The Yoni Jesner award is run by the Jewish Volunteering Network it allows students to record their hours of volunteering and receive an award if they do 20 or more hours. A particular highlight has been taking a group of students to Limmud Conference for the day. The students led sessions for children and experienced the main conference. This was the first time a school delegation has attended Limmud conference.

To mark Rosh Chodesh, the Jewish new month, JCoSS staff and students attended either a Tefilla (prayer) or self-reflection session instead of their normal first period lesson. This is a unique model of engaging students in prayer and spirituality that caters for students across the religious spectrum including those who are non-practicing. There were fourteen different sessions that students signed up for in advance. The sessions included an Orthodox, Masorti and Reform service. In addition there were yoga, philosophy, drama, Israeli dancing , interfaith and a news update options. The sessions were led by outside facilitators who represent the diversity of the Jewish and wider community. Presenters included: Rabbi Michael Pollack, Cantor Jeremy Burko, Cantor Zoe Jacobs, Mayam from the Tony Blair foundation and Movement workers from BBYO and FZY.

Looking ahead the rest of the year will include a Year 7 Shabbaton where students will sleepover at school and experience a Shabbat run by madrichim (leaders) from the various youth movements. The Shabbaton will end with the students running a talent show for children who are severely ill. We have a leadership course for our Year 8 students which will accumulate with students leading informal education sessions for primary school children. Another exciting venture is the launch of our edible garden taking place in the spring term.

The Faraday Challenge

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

As a centre of excellence in science, we ensure that our students participate in events which engage and excite them about science and maths. Earlier this term our Y7 and 8 budding young engineers undertook the Faraday Challenge. This Challenge is a unique opportunity for students to design and make a prototype solution to an engineering problem linked directly to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Faraday Challenge focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills development, and highlights the wide variety of engineering related careers for students who continue to study STEM subjects. This is a great way to show young people the vital role engineering plays in the Olympics. JCoSS students had to research, design and build a solution to a real engineering problem and seemed to enjoy every minute of it, with one Year 7 student saying "It was a day that broadened my horizons" and another Year 8 student saying "It changed the way I viewed engineering. It was a brilliant day and a great experience."