Commando Joe's

Commando Joe's is a character building programme that we use at St Bart's! We take part in a fortnightly session that helps us be successful, both in and out of school.

We learn about ways that we can show RESPECT:

Resilience
Empathy
Self Awareness
Positivity
Excellence
Communication
Team work

It involved looking at famous explorers and taking part in missions with our friends. It allows us to transform our school hall or playground into the Amazon Rainforest, or even Mount Everest to become real life explorers ourselves and to work as a team to complete challenges. In our hall, we have a top secret box with all the things we need to realise our full potential!

These are the explorers we learn about:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Traditional Tales

Pocohontas

Spartacus

Ed Stafford

Tim Peake

Nancy Wake

Simba and Me

Sam Pepys

Sir Ernest Shakleton

Kira Salak

Leif Erikson

Amelia Earheart

Steve Backshall and Me

The Queen

Nellie Bly

Levision Wood

Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Ibn Battuta

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Determination

Class 5 showed team work and determination in last weeks command Jo’s. As a class they’re working really hard to develop how they work together.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Teamwork

Today we had to use our teamwork in order to row our boats from the sinking ship to the other side of the ice floe.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Sinking Ship!

Today we had to get off our ship frozen into the ice before it sank! We had to avoid the icy water and the killer whales using the stepping stones. We needed to get everyone in the team off safely but we did not have enough steppingstones for everyone! We developed our communication skills and teamwork skills as well as our resilience.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Team Building Skills

This week, year 6 had to use their team building skills and work together to guide each other through an assault course. They had to use their communication and patience. They were very successful!

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Levison Wood

Class 11 have been looking at the explorer Levison Wood, who trekked the length of the Nile. We have imagined their food has got stuck in the middle of quick sand and they have to retrieve it using the equipment they would have had. They worked well as a team and discussed what to do, listening to each other. Everyday, although they lost some of the food, they were able to recover enough to survive.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Building a Tall Structure

Today in Commando Joes our challenge was to build the tallest structure we could that would stay standing independently. We worked in teams and developed our communication skills as well as building our resilience when things did not go to plan!

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Memory & Observation Skills

Today we tested our memories and observation skills. We had to remember as many items from our base camp as we could and then we had to try and identify what item had been removed. It was harder than it looked!

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - 3D Map of London

In class 6 we worked together in Commando Joes to make a 3D map of London.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Amazon Rainforest

Class 3 really enjoyed their Commando Joes today. They had to make their way through the Amazon rainforest going over and around different obstacles.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Rescue Mission

Today we worked as a team to rescue Gorillas just like Kira Salak. We started off at an easy level and we gradually moved further away so that earlier tactics had to be built on and developed to help us succeed.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - A Snake Infested Swamp!

Class 4 enjoyed completing their Commando Joe's challenge. They worked in teams to retrieve the crocodile eggs from the snake infested swamp.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Obstacle in the Amazon

Today we developed our teamwork skills by overcoming obstacles in the Amazon.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Memory Skills

Class 11 have been testing their memory skills this week in Commando Joes. They had 15 seconds to check which equipment was under the cammo sheet and what position they were in. They then had 5 minutes to recreate it in their groups. Overall the children did very well.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - River Crossing

Class 3 really enjoyed their commando joes session today. They had to find a way to cross a river without falling in. They showed great teamwork to complete the task.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Obstacles

Class 11 have been thinking about the obstacles Ed Stafford may come across on his journey down the Amazon. We thought about how he may have to cross the river at some point and how he would have to use anything he may have around him to make a bridge. The children used the equipment given to make a bridge across the river and had to get their whole team across.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Food for a Long Journey

Class 10 had a great time learning about Ed Stafford’s adventures in the Amazon rainforest. We thought about which foods would be beneficial to us when travelling long distances. We then had to work as a team to collect the food we needed, making sure that other teams didn’t steal our food. It was really tricky because we had to avoid water snakes (ropes) and crocodile, as well as survive the rough tide! We learned that it was really tough to survive in the rainforest and showed some fantastic team work skills.

Curriculum - Commando Joe's - The Amazon River

Class 11 enjoyed their first session of Commando Joes. They are looking at Ed Stafford and how he walked the full length of the Amazon River, over 4000 miles, in 860 days. Their first part of the mission was to get fit. We did this by a round of circuit training.