26 February 2016

26 February 2016 : Adari 5776
From the Desk of Headteacher
I was delighted to receive a very welcome letter of congratulations this week from
Mr Nick Gibb MP, the Ministers for Schools, congratulating Yavneh College on our
outstanding GCSE results in 2015. It is always a pleasure to receive such recognition
and I am sure that parents will join me in thanking all the staff for the part they
played in ensuring this great success.
Mr S Lewis
Headteacher
We are delighted to announce that we have very recently been informed that Yavneh College has won a
Learning Plus UK Post-16 Value Added Award this year and are due to be receiving the award next month.
Since our last newsletter, a group of Year 13 Physics students have been working hard on the annual
Weitzman Institute Safe Cracking Competition. Our pupils were ably assisted by Mr Goldberg and Mr
Sayada producing an excellent safe using the things they have learnt as part of their Physics AS studies.
Although they did not win the overall competition which was hotly contested by pupils from many
different schools, they were commended by the judges for the ingenuity of their safe and their ability to
crack those of other schools in the allotted time.
Please can I take this opportunity to draw all parents attention to the letter recently sent by the Chair of
Governors regarding parking and driving on Hillside Avenue. It is extremely important that parents are
aware of this, that they pick up their children in the Tesco car park and that they, and indeed our Sixth
Form drivers do not park on Hillside Avenue as agreed with our neighbours and the Local Authority.
Every few months we like to take stock of the activities in which we are involved and I as a result I am
delighted to show you our latest Yavneh in the Community leaflet, via this link http://tinyurl.com/j6gyspm.
Yavneh College pupils are involved in a huge variety of community activities as volunteers both in the
Jewish community and outside, I am always so proud to read about the wonderful things our pupils are
doing. In particular, as part of our British Values programme our pupils learn about a variety of different
faiths and beliefs and are involved in many different projects that teach them the core British values of
democracy, justice and respect which forms an integral part of the Yavneh Way (Respect, Kindness,
Politeness and Courtesy) underpinned by our school motto of ‘a world built on kindness - .’‫יבנה‬
‫עולם חסד‬
PE DEPARTMENT
It has once again been a busy year for the PE Department as they continue to offer pupils a broad and
balanced curriculum programme that not only develops physical skills, but also mental, social and personal
skills. The Yavneh College extra-curricular and enrichment programme also continues to thrive.
Inter House Competitions
The autumn term has seen the start of the Inter House Sports Fixtures for 2015/16. The boys have been
competing in football, whilst the girls have been competing in netball. There are five houses competing
throughout the year to earn points towards to House Cup. Further competitions are planned throughout
the term and include sports hall athletics, rugby and basketball along with the grand finale of Sports Day
on the 22 June. All pupils are welcome to get involved and should check the PE notice boards for details.
School/Club Links
Yavneh College PE Department continues to have strong links with Hertsmere Community Sports
Development and local sports clubs. The Zenith Trampolining satellite club continues to run weekly at
Yavneh College with over 30 pupils attending, developing their skills under the guidance of Zenith
coaches. Pupils are then offered the opportunity to attend Zenith trampolining sessions at their club in
Potters Bar. Similarly, the school has also developed a successful link with Herts Phoenix Athletics Club. The
club coaches visit Yavneh College to run weekly athletics sessions and offer the opportunity for pupils to
further develop their skills and take part in competitions under the Herts Phoenix umbrella. Girls’ football at
Yavneh College has benefited from sessions being delivered by Arsenal Ladies and Barnet FC. A group of
Year 7 girls attended a Football Development day hosted by Arsenal Ladies, which included theory based
team challenges, tournaments and skills coaching. Yavneh recently welcomed a member of the London
Maccabi Brady coaching team to school to deliver a taster session in Futsal and also promote the links
between the school and their community sessions in Krav Maga and Athletics. Pupils can find details of
local clubs and opportunities on the Community Sports Clubs and Events Noticeboard in the department.
Competitive School Sport
The PE Department continues to provide opportunities for pupils to be involved in competitive sport at
many levels. Yavneh College pupils attend regular sports events organised by Maccabi GB. This term has
seen the boys and girls in KS3 compete in the Maccabi 5 a-side football tournaments, basketball and
netball. The main highlight so far has been the Year 9 Netball team’s unbeaten record on their way to
taking the 1st place spot in their competition.
Yavneh College is also fully committed to the Mid Herts School Sports Association competitions with other
schools from Borehamwood, Welwyn and Potters Bar. The boys have been taking part in the District
Football League and most notably have produced excellent performances in the Year 7 and Year 8 5-aside tournaments. Congratulations to our District Football representatives; Sammy Garcia, Daniel Jackson,
Joey Gold, Ollie Leigh and Noah Raphael.
Meanwhile, the girls have made an excellent start to their netball campaign with notable wins at Year
10/11 against Queenswood, Mount Grace and Stanborough and also wins at Year 8 against Mount Grace
and Stanborough. All Years’ boys’ teams have also participated in the District Basketball championships.
One of the highlights of the summer term was the Mid Herts District Athletics. Mid Herts is comprised of 12
schools and the competition truly is one of the biggest and best Hertfordshire has to offer. On Friday 26
June pupils and students from Yavneh College 50+ pupils from Year 7 to Sixth Form took part in a wide
range of track and field events. As with previous years a vast amount of pupils qualified for their respective
finals - a huge achievement in itself and some pupils managed to place in the medal positions. A special
mention must go to the Sixth Form team of Jake Rinsler, Zac Sorene, Sam Abrahams, Zoe Cohen and Shira
Dulberg. Well done to all of the team and especially: Milly Schechter 3rd place in the shot putt, Sophie
Rabin 3rd place in the 1500m, Gaby Kennedy joint 3rd place in the high jump, Gabriel Nicholls 2 nd place in
Javelin, Sammy Garcia joint 3rd place in the high jump, Joel Alexander 3rd place in the high jump, Seb
Hertz 2nd place in 200m, Nathan Mayers 2nd in the 300m and 3rd place in shot putt, Ronan Cupeva 2 nd
place in the triple jump, Year 9 Boys’ 4x100 relay team placed 3rd – Daniel Bonn, Nathan Mayers, Seb Hertz
& Ronan Cupeva, Isaac Fahidi with a MVA (most valuable athlete) performance 3 rd place in 100m, 2nd
place in the 200m and 2nd place in triple jump, Zac Sorene 2nd place in 200m and 3rd place in shot putt,
Jake Rinsler 1st place in the 400m.
A further opportunity for our pupils to participate in competitive school sport is at the Watford and
Hertsmere School Sports Partnership events. We continue to attend regular sports events organised by the
Watford and Hertsmere School Sports Partnership. This term has seen the boys and girls in the Partnership
Badminton tournament with excellent performances from the boys’ team of Ben Lazarus, Jake Valins,
Aaron Lewis and Nathan Bhloon. We look forward to further tournaments including football, badminton,
table tennis and athletics. Well done to Sammy Deacon, Jamie Gordon, Matti Harris, Zack Obrart – semi
finalists in the Y8 Watford and Hertsmere Table Tennis Tournament and Bayley Yanover, Mia Herman,
Georgia Reback, Millie Schechter – 2nd place in Y8 Girls’ Watford and Hertsmere Table Tennis Tournament.
Yavneh College Rugby teams are entered into the Watford and district emerging schools Rugby
tournament and have so far had an unbeaten start to the season. Y7, Y8 and Y9 teams will compete
throughout the season against Bushey Meads, Westfield, Bushey Academy, Francis Combe Academy and
Reach Free School. Well done to all boys who have played so far this season.
GCSE PE
Aiming to follow in the footsteps of last years GCSE group who achieved outstanding results, the GCSE PE
students have been busy recently completing their Analysis of Performance Assessments and Personal
Exercise Programmes. This has all been helped by the extra practical sessions, including Netball, Football,
Handball and Fitness that have been run by the PE Department. February has also seen the addition of
GCSE PE revision sessions running on a Monday lunchtime. We are pleased to announce that we will also
be offering BTEC Sport as a new option for study at Key Stage 4.
Sports Leadership
We have hosted several sporting events for local Primary Schools led
by Year 9 Sports Leaders. 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. This month it
was the turn of the Hertsmere Primary Schools including Clore Shalom,
Saffron Green, Kenilworth, Monksmead and Cowley Hill to take part in
the Watford and Hertsmere School Sports Partnership Sportshall
Athletics. Participation in both events was enthusiastic and the Sports
Leaders demonstrated their excellent planning, organisational and
communication skills. Well done to all the Sports Leaders. Any other
pupils who wish to volunteer for sports leadership activities should get
more information from their PE teacher or the notice board.
Finally ..
It is important to note that our PE programme is not just geared towards school representation. All pupils are
encouraged to take part in extra-curricular clubs before school, during lunchtime and after school,
regardless of their ability. Details of the extra-curricular activities can be found on the notice boards in
school and also on the school website and on the PE Department Twitter page @Yav_PE.
PE department Sports Star of the month
The sports star of the month award started in September and celebrates the successes of individual pupils
in each year group. Pupils are chosen by the PE department for effort and/or achievement and
commitment to extra curricular clubs. The following pupils won the award for February.
Y7
Sam Cohen
Consistent hard work and effort in PE lessons
Emma Joseph
Excellent effort and enthusiasm in basketball enrichment
Y8
Benji Morrison
Excellent effort in lessons and commitment to
extra curricular clubs
Daniel Bennis
Improvements in effort, attitude and
performance in PE lessons
Anabel Sinclair
Excellent effort in PE lessons and the 12 minute run
Y10
Aaron Lewis
Excellent effort and attitude in GCSE PE
Orli Summerfield
Excellent effort and attitude in GCSE PE
Y11
Sam Jayes
Excellent effort and attitude in all PE lessons
Joanna Flashman
Improvements in attitude and effort in GCSE PE
Excellent leadership skills in Year 11 core PE
Y9
Emily Moss
Improvements in effort and behaviour
Zara Collins
on undertaking voluntary work as part of her Batmitzvah project
collecting hundreds of pairs of unwanted shoes in conjunction with ‘Step Up’ a GiFT campaign
which will be distributed to help those in need around the world
Have you recently completed any sporting achievements? Please let
your PE teacher know. We always look forward to hearing about how
Yavneh College pupils are excelling in sport outside of school so get
in contact.
For sports news and achievements please go to
http://www.yavnehcollege.org/sports-news