Volume 7 - Issue 15 Iyar 5776 - End of May 2016

Dear Parents

Next week we will welcome parents and students to our annual Sports Awards Ceremony. There are so many sporting achievements, both individual and team efforts, that we look forward to celebrating with parents and invited guests. The high calibre of sporting prowess at JFS is truly exceptional. Congratulations to all award winners.Amongst many others we can highlight several students who are achieving exceptional things in the world of sport. Steven Reingold is a Middlesex Cricket Youth player who will soon be moving to South Africa to further his cricket career. Amanda Tropp is the current English Trampolining under 18 Champion. Max Davis and Sam Meisel recently joined the Stevenage Town FC Academy on their tour to Italy. Jessica Helfgott is the British Gymnastics Individual and Doubles Champion as well as team silver medalist. Hannah Freund is the Great Britain Black Belt Karate Champion,

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MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER Inside thisIssue:

Yom Ha’atzmautStudents celebrate with song and dance.

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Memorable Day Year 11 enjoyed a special Leavers’ party.

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Year 13 last day togetherMarking the end of school with style and emotion.

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and will represent Team GB in the Karate world championships in the summer. Ben Sugarman is the Commonwealth powerlifting champion, going to the World Championships this summer. Sasha Leigh is a member of London Children’s Ballet and recently received an outstanding contribution award. Ella Cohen is a member of the GB Lacrosse team. David stone is the under 18 Jerusalem Half Marathon champion.None of these accolades would be possible without tremendous dedication from the students who are accomplishing excellence whilst also completing their schooling career. It is also a great testament to the entire PE Department that they are able to support and encourage students to achieve success. Yours sincerely

Debby Lipkin Simon Appleman

Executive Headteacher Headteacher

Year 13 Leavers spend their last day together as a Year Group.

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Israel CommemorationsOver the course of the week leading up to Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, a series of assemblies were held for almost every Year Group across the School in order to inform them of the significance of the day and to prepare them for the various events that would be taking place. The assemblies also described what happens in Israel to mark these important dates, and the transition from the sombre Yom Hazikaron to the festive Yom Ha’atzmaut.On Yom Hazikaron itself, Years 9, 10 and 11 participated in a special Tekes (Ceremony) to memorialise the soldiers who lost their lives in Israel’s various wars, as well as victims of terrorism.Ten candles were lit, each one in memory of those who died in one of Israel’s wars, from the times of the Yishuv until the present day. The last candle was lit for all those who have died over the years in terror attacks. After all ten candles had been lit, the students were privileged to hear a personal story from a guest speaker who had served in the IDF. The Ceremony ended with the recitation of the Yizkor prayer, followed by a rendition of Israel’s National Anthem, ‘Ha’tikvah’. Overall, it was a moving and fitting way to commemorate this important day.In addition to the Ceremonies, JFS created a special ‘Memory Room’, which was open to students and staff

during break time and lunch time on the day. The room featured a special display of photos, videos, stories and profiles of soldiers and civilians who were killed in battle or as a result of terrorism. The display was very moving, and many students who visited the room commented on how effective it was.At the entrance, there was a letter for students to sign to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Israel in grieving for those who were lost. The letter, which contained hundreds of signatures by the end of the day, will be sent to ‘One Family’ in Israel, so that the families of soldiers who lost their lives can draw comfort from the fact that students in the UK were mourning together with them.

Students taking an active role in the Yom Hazikaron Ceremony.

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Yom Ha’atzmaut CelebrationsOn Yom Ha’atzmaut, following an extended morning service in the Synagogue, 350 students attended a special breakfast. Those lucky students who managed to procure a ticket were treated to a delicious breakfast, followed by energetic Israeli dancing and pumping music. The students, who were clad in blue-and white, had come to school well-prepared; many of them sported patriotic decorations such as blue face-paint and bandanas, and it was wonderful to see so many of them waving Israeli flags as the celebrations unfolded.The festivities continued at lunchtime with more dancing and blaring music. JFS were proud to host the talented singer Shloime Gertner, together with his excellent keyboard player Shaya Austerlitz. The atmosphere was electric, as both Jewish and Israeli songs blasted from the sound system and the students joined hands to show pride in their country. Students were joined by guests from Tribe, Bnei Akiva and Aish, and many staff members who participated in the fun. Popcorn, candyfloss and cakes were on sale, which added to the festive atmosphere of the event. All in all, it was an amazing day of song, dance and celebration; a true reflection of the students’ strong connection with Israel and pride in their Jewish Identity.We are grateful to our Israeli ‘Shinshin’

(national service educator) Guy Levi for all his hard work together with the entire JiEP (Informal Education)

Team for creating these events for our students.

Y13 students enjoyed their penultimate day in school by wearing their old school uniform.

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Year 11 End of Year CelebrationsWe recently bade farewell to our Year 11 cohort as they departed for their GCSE Study Leave. A group of students spent many weeks working with the Year 11 Team to put together a very special day of events. The students, resplendent in their pink leavers’ hoodies, gathered for a Yom Ha’aztzmaut lunch. They were joined by their parents for the ‘formal’ leavers’ ceremony that was led by the Year Team and welcomed three keynote speakers. The students heard from Mr Greg Levine, a JFS parent and leading car designer and businessman. He spoke to students about the impact of the changing technological world and their future aspirations. He told students to be prepared for when life

takes you down a path you may not have anticipated. Rebbetzen Freda Kaplan of Hampstead Garden Suburb Shul spoke to students about finding their own individual path as they enter adulthood. She stressed the importance of individuality whilst retaining a strong link to their roots. She told students to try and ensure that they should never let three days go by without thinking about your heritage. Finally Judge Rinder shared four key messages with students the key being that they should follow a career path that they are passionate about and not make decisions about their future careers just to please others. He stressed the importance of being true to their Jewish identity and acknowledged that today even just being an active part of the Jewish

Judge Rinder Mr Greg LevineRebbetzen Kaplan

Students of the Year.

community at university requires an element of bravery. We wish all our Year 11 students the best of luck with their upcoming exams and look forward to celebrating their successes in the summer.

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Parents were invited to share in the celebrations.

Students reading their personal messages from their parents.

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Goodbye And Good Luck To Our Year 13 Students.

Students of the Year, Bianca and Simon, with Mr Appleman (headteacher).

Students enjoyed their last time in Tutor Group with their Tutors.

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In true JFS tradition, Sixth Form students dressed in their old school uniforms, in their penultimate day of school.

The winning football team in the Senior Brent championships were presented with their trophy.

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Selected from our Student Journalist Blog... (view our blog at: http://jfsstudentjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/)

Can You Define Ambition?Ambition is often understood as the strong desire to achieve or do something in the future. For someone to fulfil their life to the fullest they have to have inspiration, ambition and motivation. These three words are all dependent on each other they are like three steps. If one step does not happen the next one would not be possible. If you had no inspiration you would have no ambition or motivation. I want to be a Physiotherapist in the future for a big sports team or an individual athlete. My love and passion for caring for others and for sports, inspired me to want to do this job. My ambition would not become a reality without motivation and my motivation relies on the desire to do this profession. Nothing in life is served to you on a plate; you have to work hard to fulfil your dreams and desires. Athletes are inspired by their love of a sport to become a professional and then they have ambition to fulfil that dream. This is followed by the ambition and the desire and determination motivating

the person to make it a reality. Some people find it harder to have an ambition but everyone has ambition somewhere, though they may not know it yet. Without ambition no one will have the desire to fulfil their dreams, they will just do something for the money not for the enjoyment or pleasure it brings. Even

people who have a troubled life will still have ambition for things such as a better future. Ambition is different for everyone and not one person will have the exact same ambition or understanding of the word.Hettie Virchis 8W3 Student Journalist

Ambition - What is it? It is an earnest desire for types of achievement or distinction, such as; power, honour, fame, or wealth and the willingness to strive for its attainment. I live to succeed in whatever I do. I live to gain the marvellous feeling of doing well in something, whatever it may be, or doing something that helps another

person to feel at ease. However, being an ambitious person who is always striving for success does come with obstacles. I have never been at the top of any of my classes. Nor have I felt the astonishing feeling of getting 100% in any tests I have taken part in. Nevertheless, I do still believe that I can work towards these goals and eventually I will achieve them. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “If you can’t walk then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.’’ I believe that this is an extremely powerful quote, that in times of distress we should always think of. The ability to be perfect and achieve everything that you have ever wanted is unreachable for everyone. Although we may not be perfect as human beings, we can strive to be the best people that we can possibly be. I have been in many situations when I thought, “I cannot do this” or, “How will I ever do this”, but

then I have come to the realisation that thinking in that way will never get me anywhere. I want to achieve, pursue, make myself and others proud, but how will I possibly be able to do those things if I do not believe that I can? Being ambitious is the act of being eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth or a specific goal. Whatever it may be that you are doing, you should try to expend all your effort and work and it will definitely lead you to success. You should never have to think that just because you are not outstandingly perfect at a certain thing, that you will never be able to do it. We live in a world where we are encouraged to be the best we can possibly be and always look forward to the positive aspects of our lives. Be ambitious.Eden Reyhanian 9A2 Student Journalist