Co-Curricular
Co-curricular life at JESS refers to the activities and learning experiences that take place in school alongside the academic curriculum. Sport, music, drama, Duke of Edinburgh and extra-curricular activities form the basis of our vibrant programme. This is essential to providing a rounded education for our students and their enjoyment of school life will be enhanced alongside the development of their personal skills.
International Award
JESS Secondary students have the opportunity to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. This is an exciting self-development programme available to all young people aged 14-25, equipping them with life skills which make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world. The Award concept is one of individual challenge, designed to develop young people into responsible, active citizens who will positively contribute towards society. It presents a balanced, non-competitive and enjoyable programme of voluntary activities which encourage personal discovery, growth, self-reliance, perseverance, responsibility and service to the community.
The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award is split into three levels.
“I’ve really enjoyed the Award, as it has made me take up hobbies I would not normally do and have found myself really enjoying the new activities”.
Erikah Silver Award Skill
MaD Award
The Making A Difference (MaD) Award has been designed to allow JESS Primary students to develop life skills and cultivate their passions outside of the classroom. The MaD Award encourages students to ‘Make A Difference’ to themselves, their local community and the wider world.
The MaD Award is broken down into strands that students undertake during their journey through JESS, namely Culture, Service, Independence and Performance. Students are set various tasks within these strands to develop key skills which become more challenging as they progress from Foundation through to Key Stage 3. Students, teachers and parents can track progress using “digital scrapbooks” on SeeSaw.
Students are periodically rewarded as strands are completed as part of the Award to encourage commitment, perseverance and excellence. Additionally, each term, MaD Award Ambassador cups are awarded to students whose MAD Award contribution has been outstanding.
We also have exciting educational trips and experiences for our students and continually look for enriching opportunities for students to take part in, such as, the Dubai Fitness Challenge or Service experiences such as the Philanthropic Schools Award organised by the KHDA.
Extracurricular Programme
JESS offers a varied and exciting range of extracurricular activities for students from Year 3 and above.
By its very nature, the extracurricular programme of activities is dynamic and tailored to the student’s interests as much as possible. It will change with each term around the music and sporting calendar as well as adaptations to the weather conditions. We aim to provide students with opportunities to experience new areas of activity and to develop as an individual with a range of interests that may go beyond their school years.
Trips and Visits
Taking the learning outside of the classroom to broaden our student’s education is a huge part of our Trips and Visits ethos at JESS. All students will have the opportunity to take school trips, which can be visiting local mosques and educational activity centres in Early Years through to service trips to Africa and Asia to help impoverished communities.
We expect every student to enjoy a safe and positive learning experience. We also want them to reflect on what they have learned and each trip will have a clear objective and learning outcome linked to one or more of our Core Values. The true value of a trip lies in the student’s ability to make real world connections, and to link their experiences outside the classroom back to their everyday lives.
Our residential programmes are designed to develop in scope and sequence and as students’ progress through JESS, those experiences and learning are built on. Our Year 3 Primary students will camp-out on our sports fields overnight, our Year 7 Secondary students are offered the chance to camp outdoors and to learn new skills in the desert environment and on the water. By Year 9, students have a choice of trips where skill levels required are higher, including a service trip to Kenya. Our trips culminating in the Year 12 CAS and Gold Duke of Edinburgh International Award trip to Vietnam.
Always guided by our values
