Good news from the final assembly to round off 2008 and to start 2009 with a bang, not a whimper!

Some exceptional Year 7 and 8 pupils finished the year with a flourish. The Science department’s competition to write a Science story book suitable for Years 4 and 5 produced a highly imaginative response from  Meera Kumar, Year 7, for her story about climate change from the point of view of the polar animals that are living through it. She went to the JAPS assembly to read ‘My Life in the Meltdown’; they were enthralled. Second prize goes to Anita Vigneswaran in Year 8 for her lovely story about Food Chains, ‘The Journey of Mrs Brook and her Friends’. A special runner-up prize is shared by Rita Otto and Priya Gupta for ‘Visit to Another Planet’. All these books are now in the JAPS Library so that they can be read at leisure.

We are also announcing results of the journal competition that stems from the sixth form Geography trip to Morocco: well done to Jessica Tang in Year 12 and to Cori Low in Year 13. The best photos were taken by Roshni Mahtani. (You can see a report on this trip by visiting Teaching and Learning/Geography/Field trips)

A different opportunity was offered to Year 12 and 13 mathematicians in the shape of the Senior Maths Challenge, a national competition. Girls achieved 21 Bronze and 13 Silver Awards and 2 Gold Awards were presented to Rosie Patchett and to Rosemary Ware. Rosemary also received the Best in School certificate. Congratulations!

The linguistic skills MFL students display are very impressive and all sixth form linguists had the chance to participate in the Juvenes Translatores Competition, a translation competition sponsored by the EU. Poppy Simon, Leila Morris, Madeleine Owen-Smith and Anita Kessie were the JAGS representatives in the finals; but since the standard of translation was so high, the MFL department would like to commend the writes of the best translations: Eleanor Hamblen and Eliza Chubb (French into English); Leila Morris  and Hussun Ara Shah (German into English); Ayesha Williams and Zofia Bakowska (Italian into English); Shivangee Agrawal (Japanese into English); Maggie Lund and Hannah Cannell (Russian into English); and Rosie Joly and Phoebe Newman (Spanish into English)

You need look no further than the Library next year for Christmas cards with a literary twist! The winners of the Library competition, using recycled cards and naming a favourite book and character, were Esme Mahoney-Phillips, Year 7, Anita Vigneswaran, Year 8 and Victoria Jackson and Flora Loughridge, Year 9. Well done.

Congratulations to Helina Berhane who has trained hard and been awarded a green Karate belt and Esme Mahoney who likewise achieved a brown karate belt.

Finally, not forgetting the Teachers’ Hockey Match, a Clarke House Charity event in aid of Winston’s Wish, Mrs Gibbs gave the Man of the Match Award  to Mr Nicholls, and Mr Billington and Mr Carter collected The Most Entertaining Players Awards. What can we say? Happy New Year!