Latest Community Activities

“Yavneh College is a school which aspires to have the community at its heart, and to be at the heart of the community.” Edition 3 Spring 2016 (Spencer Lewis, Headteacher) Latest community activities

The school is proud to outline its current community projects which demonstrate its commitment to British Values and SMSC.

Young People of the Year (“YOPEY”)

Is a campaign to give young people a fairer image in the media and society as a whole by revealing, recognising and rewarding young unsung heroes. Yavneh College’s Keshet Dor age 13 won the Hertfordshire Junior Young Person of the Year 2015 at a ceremony on 10 November 2015.

Keshet plans and runs services every Shabbat for up to 10 youngsters, aged three to seven, at Elstree and Borehamwood Masorti Community Synagogue. Keshet also spends one day a week reading to an 11 year-old boy who struggles to walk and is unable to speak. Following her Bat Mitzvah last year, Keshet gave the £300 she received as gifts to help Kisharon buy computer software to help an adult who has communication difficulties.

The competition judges, included Hertsmere Mayor Martin Worster as well as other members of the distinguished audience and past YOPEY finalists, said: “Keshet has proved that if you put your mind and heart to something you love doing then anything is achievable regardless of age.”

Visit from Mrs Nicky Morgan MP

We were delighted and honoured to welcome the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon. Mrs Nicky Morgan MP who visited our school at the start of this academic year. This was an opportunity for us to show the very best of what Yavneh College has to offer and the Secretary of State was most impressed with what she saw. Mrs Morgan spent time in a variety of classrooms chatting to some of the pupils and ended her visit by addressing the Sixth Form, answering questions on all manner of political issues.

The visit, of course was partly in recognition of the fact that Yavneh College has been successful in receiving Government funding to open a primary school as part of the recent round of Free Schools. This is a very exciting time for the school and I look forward to updating all parents on the progress of the project in due course.

Mr Lewis

Fitness Fun in the Community Macmillan Coffee Yavneh College PE Department has continued to develop its Morning involvement in sport in the community through competitions, events and club links. We were delighted to participate in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning Yavneh pupils attend regular sports events organised by the on Wednesday 14 October 2015. Watford and Hertsmere School Sports Partnership. The partnership is a group of schools that includes Queens school Bushey, Staff were invited to bake and bring Bushey Meads School, Watford Boys and Watford Girls School. in their signature cakes/biscuits for This term has seen the boys and girls in the Partnership Badmin- the rest of us to sample to our hearts ton tournament with excellent performances from the boys’ team of Ben Lazarus, Jake Valins, Aaron Lewis and Nathan content, having made a donation Bloohn. We look forward to further tournaments including foot- to this very worthwhile cause. ball, badminton, table tennis and athletics throughout the £173.07 was raised year. Yavneh College is also part of the Mid Herts District Sports Association which involves participating in fixtures, league competitions and events run collaboratively within the schools of Potters Bar, Welwyn and Borehamwood. Further involvement in community sports events is also through participation in the Maccabi GB Schools Sports events

Yavneh College has hosted several sporting events for local Primary Schools led by Yavneh College Year 9 Sports Lead- ers. The Sports Leadership team is made up of pupils in Sports Leadership enrichments or pupils who have shown a particular talent during their sports leadership lessons. Hertsmere Primary Schools including Clore Shalom, Saffron Green, Kenilworth, Year 5 CSI Yavneh Monksmead and Cowley Hill were invited to Yavneh to take part in the Watford and Hertsmere School Sports Partnership Days Sportshall Athletics. Participation in both events was enthusiastic and competitive and the sports leaders demonstrated their In July of last year Yavneh College excellent planning, organisational and communication skills. was pleased to welcome around Primary schools were also invited to netball and football tour- 450 Year 5 pupils to the CSI Yavneh naments at Yavneh College and our sports leaders worked in days. When pupils arrived they were conjunction with Hertswood School to host a Primary School greeted with the news that Mr Lewis’ Kwik Cricket tournament. Well done to all of the members of Goldfish had been stolen from Sci- the Sports Leadership team. ence Lab 101 the previous Mon- day! Using techniques taught to The Yavneh College PE Department has several links with local them throughout the day in Geogra- community sports clubs and coaches. Throughout 2015, we phy, Computing and Science the hosted two separate satellite clubs, set up through the Year 5s set about solving the mystery Hertsmere Community Sports Development team. These clubs of who stole ‘Goldie’, gathering evi- are Zenith Trampolining Club and Herts Phoenix Athletics Club dence that led to the apprehension who now run weekly sessions of the thief. The day culminated in a based at the school. Further heartfelt confession from Dr Green to this, the school has strong AKA Dr Lee who explained her mo- links with clubs such as Arse- tives in carrying out the nal Ladies Football, Saracens crime. Thanks to all the staff and Academy and Barnet Foot- Year 11 pupils who worked so hard ball Club. These links involve on this wonderful experience for the club visits, taster session and younger pupils. regular liaison between club Mr Jackson and school. The Yavneh College PE Department continues to work with organisations, clubs and other schools in the community and details of activities can be found in the sports news section of the school website. Mr Kirk

Mitzvah Week

Shabbat UK In the week leading up to Mitzvah Day, on Sunday 22 November 2015, pupils took part in this nationwide At the end of October, to prepare for the project by supporting Am Echad, our 3 school Chief Rabbi’s Shabbat UK project, the IJE charities - Jewish Child’s Day Breakfast Clubs (a department ran Shabbat Week. During service offering a daily breakfast Shabbat Week, Jewish club to disadvantaged children Studies lessons were prior to going to school), West themed around the Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: topic of Shabbat and Watford General Hospital we promoted a number Children’s Services (supporting of Shabbat UK activities the paediatric ward – The Starfish Ward) and MDA UK that ran locally. On Monday 19 October, (Israel’s only medical emergency response and we ran our Shabbat Fair with pupils coming ambulance service). together to play Shabbat games, make Havdalah candles, dance for Shabbat, During Mitzvah week in school, pupils donated make Shabbat posters, eat Shabbat food various non-perishable items in our collectathon and listen to Shabbat music. boxes. This was presented to Jewish Child’s Day together with breakfast bowls which were designed Later in the week, all pupils took part in the by a group of Year 12 students. Great Shabbat Challah Bake, where all During pupils in the school baked their own Challot Form for Shabbat. Period, pupils Thank you to all staff and pupils involved. in Mrs Harrod Years 7-10 had the choice of making cards for volunteers, paramedics and medics at MDA UK OR making seasonal/Winter decorations to give to the Starfish Ward at Watford General Hospital. MDA UK ran a stall over lunchtime allowing pupils to make friendship bracelets to accompany the cards which were sent to Israel. All gifts were greatly appreciated by the recipients. Thank you to staff, parents and students involved in supporting these worthwhile charities. Mrs Harrod

Annual school production - InTo the Woods December saw pupils from Years 7- 11 tackle the challenging musical ‘InTo The Woods’. The cast did an outstanding job and put on yet another successful school production, complete with comedy, tragedy and even a pantomime cow. This year the production was added to by the fantastic set created by our incredibly talented Art Department who delivered a fabulous beanstalk complete with giant’s feet. I have yet again been blown away by the hugely talented pupils at the school and all that they can achieve, as well as the fantastic dedication they have shown through the months of rehearsal. I would also like to take this opportunity to thanks all of the amazing staff who contributed to the show and helped the pupils put on such a successful performance, as well as the very generous Mrs Ben-Hur for providing us with all of the costumes. I look forward to yet another astonishing performance next year. Ms Saunders

Learning Ambassadors Magistrates in the Community On Thursday 10 December 2015, fourteen Following on from its success in 2015, as part Learning Ambassadors from St Albans Girls of their Magistrates in the Community visits School spent the day with us at Yavneh Col- to schools 2015/16 programme, Stephen lege. Each STAGS girl was partnered up with Pam visited Yavneh and presented an a mix of Yavneh pupils (from Years 7 to 11) assembly to our Year 9 students on 9th and shadowed them throughout the day. January 2016. Stephen is currently a magistrate with the The STAGS girls really seemed to enjoy their West and Central Herts Bench. visit and found it to be a great learning experience. The assembly had a number of objectives including aiming to help pupils understand the role of a It was then time for our reciprocal visit to magistrates’ court as well as understand the decision STAGS which took place on Tuesday 15 De- making process and how judgements are reached. The cember. The Yavneh pupils (boys and girls) assembly included active participation of over a dozen paired up with the same girls who had shad- Year 9 pupils who took on various roles of the court and owed them the previous week. The Yavneh put on a role play of a trial (with the help of Stephen) of pupils spent a full day soaking up the atmos- a middle aged woman accused of shoplifting. Year 9 phere of STAGS. As one would expect, there pupils took to the stage and played the roles of clerks, were similarities, as there might be in any sec- lawyers (for defence and prosecution), three magistrates ondary school. There were of course notable and a range of witnesses including law enforcement differences, which the pupils discussed at the officials. By the end of the assembly most Year 9 pupils conclusion of the programme. agreed with the eventual guilty verdict although there The STAGS Learning Ambassadors comment- was some lively discussion and debate. The final part of ed positively on their first experience of Jew- the presentation dealt with how sentencing works, ish Studies lessons, afternoon prayers and ko- including bringing in prior convictions which obviously sher food. The Yavneh pupils got a feel for had not featured in the trial itself. what it is like to attend a single-gender school as well as one which has such a multi- There was also an opportunity for questions and answers cultural population. at the end of the assembly and one of the issues raised which surprised our pupils most, was that local It was clear that the pupils from both schools magistrates are not actually paid. The assembly was a gained much insight into how the other oper- great success and we are very grateful to Stephen for ates and also the way in which the Jewish giving up his time to talk to our pupils. ethos permeates the Yavneh school Mr M Kendler day. The programme has real value in open- ing up avenues to learn about other cul- tures. The pupils all enjoyed describing the Tu B’Shvat aspects of their host school that they liked the most. The teaching staff from both On Monday 25 January, pupils schools also had opportunities to share good celebrated Tu B’Shvat (the New Year practice. for the trees) by raising money for tzedakah. Pupils had the opportunity It is very much during break and lunchtime to choose from 15 different hoped to repeat fruits to create their personalised smoothie by pedalling the experience on smoothie bike or choosing a selection of fruit to dip on a regular ba- in to a large chocolate fountain. sis in the future. For Year 7, Tu B’Shvat Sederim took place in which Mrs H Simon pupils looked at the importance of caring for the environment and Jewish sources about trees. They ate four different fruits and drank four different coloured cups of grape juice. The Yad Yavneh Enrichment pupils packed 30 baskets of fruit which was kindly donated by pupils and parents. These were distributed to GIFT as part of the annual GIFT fruit collectathon. A special thanks to Yossi & Sharon Ben Hur for all their generosity and help on the day, staff, parents and pupils involved. Mrs Harrod

Alan Senitt Community Links with Leadership Programme Borehamwood Library Year 10 pupils participating in The Librarians at Borehamwood the prestigious Alan Senitt Library frequently welcome Yavneh Community Leadership College pupils, who they find to be ‘enthusiastic and polite’. A number of pupils have successfully worked programme have been at the Library as part of their Yoni Jesner volunteer dedicating an incredible award or for their Duke of Edinburgh community amount of time and effort service. towards the cause. Alan Senitt was a bright young communal Several of our Sixth Form have been given work experience at the Library and others were volunteers leader and political activist who was murdered at the ‘Summer Reading challenge’. It was notable aged 27 in July 2006. The Trust was set up in his that many of the volunteers had benefitted from the memory and the aim of this particular project is ‘Reading Challenge’ when they were younger and to give young people the necessary skills to now wanted to ‘give back’ to the community. become active leaders in their own communities and the wider community. It also The majority of Year 7 classes visited last term as part of their ‘Information Literacy’ course and were able aims to bring young people of different faiths to investigate the online resources and explore the together. facilities available. The programme is run by Streetwise and the Alan Senitt Memorial Trust. It trains Year 10 A group of Year 8 and Year 9 pupils enjoyed an pupils to become active communal leaders inspirational talk from Joe Craig, author of the popular thriller series ‘Jimmy Coates’ and another and links pupils from Mainstream and Faith group of Year 7 and Year 8 pupils participated in a schools. creative writing workshop with ‘fantasy’ fiction Pupils attend seminars which include leadership author Philip Womack. Both events were also skills training and interfaith dialogue. Within the attended by pupils from Hertswood Academy. programme, each school organises and runs a We are very grateful to Borehamwood Library for local community project and have to involve continuing to provide these enriching opportunities more people in that project. to our pupils.

The Yavneh College team have chosen a Mrs Kaiser project that they hope will both raise awareness and support for veterans of the British army and their children. The pupils have been in contact with a range of charities and connections in the veterans’ community. This is all in preparation for the assemblies and major lunchtime event they intend to run for their fellow students, as well as promoting Pupils enjoy a creative writing their cause in local primary workshop with Philip Womack schools. Pupils meeting author Joe Mr Cohen Craig

Studio Y Yavneh pupils are now able to rehearse and record their own music in a state of the art music studio, thanks to the incredibly generous donation of the Family of Jonny Arnold z’l. The music department now boasts a new drum kit, specialist microphones and recording programmes, new amps and other fantastic new facilities. The studio was opened with performances from some of our own very talented performers and surely will see many more to come in the future. Ms Saunders

The Duke of Edinburgh Award The Yoni Jesner Award The Yoni Jesner Award was launched The concept of the DofE is simple – anyone aged between 14 and 24 can do a programme at one of three progressive levels to all Year 8 pupils in October. Pupils which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or have been invited to undertake the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Here at Yavneh College we challenge to complete 20 hours of offer Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE programmes. There are four volunteering in memory of Yoni Jes- sections at Bronze and Silver level and five at Gold. ner, a 19 year old boy who was killed

With assistance from adult leaders, participants select and set in a terror attack in Israel in 2002. The objectives in each of the following areas: time Yoni Jesner gave to a variety of  Volunteering: undertaking service to individuals or the com- projects demonstrated his commit- munity. ment to and love for the Jewish com-  Physical: improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness ac- munity. He represented all that is tivities. great about the community and do-  Skills: developing practical and social skills and personal in- ing good. Volunteering is a great terests. way to express these attributes and  Expedition: planning, training for and completion of an ad- uphold his legacy. Pupils have taken venturous journey in the UK or abroad. on a wide range of volunteering ac- At Gold level, participants must do an additional fifth Residen- tivities both in and out of school, in- tial section, which involves staying and working away from cluding Yad Yavneh - baking food home doing a shared activity. for GIFT, helping young children and volunteering in the healthcare indus- Each section must be done for a minimum period of time. It try. Pupils have a lot of fun taking must be monitored and then assessed by someone with knowledge of that particular activity to achieve an Award. part in the Yoni Jesner Award whilst. Each progressive level demands more time and commitment At the same time, learning the value from participants. of giving to others.

We at Yavneh College are proud of the hundreds of pupils who have and continue to participate in this scheme.

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