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 - 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.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - A Royal Carriage
Class 6 enjoyed our first Commando Joes session of the year, starting our new topic, 'The Queen'. We had to work in teams to make a royal carriage!
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - The Valley of Kings
Today we visited the Valley of the kings as Nellie Bly did on her adventure around the world in 80 days. We had to use the hieroglyphics to crack the code in order to find safe passage through the tomb to the ancient Egyptian treasure. We had to work in teams and communicate clearly. It hold us develop outer perseverance and determination when we didn’t get it right the first time.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - World Map
Class 11 have enjoyed looking at Nellie Bly who talented the world in 72 days back in 1888. The children then used a variety of equipment to represent a map of the world.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Strength
Class 11 have been looking at increasing their strength by training like Romans. We had an obstacle course laid out and the group had to complete it within a certain time. However, each time we repeated it, their Jerry can was filled with more water to make it heavier. The heavier it got, the more they had to work as a team to complete the course in time.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Great Fire of London
Class 7 take part in Commando Joes every 2 weeks. They work together as a team to complete tasks. This week they were all in boats on the Thames during the Great Fire of London. They had to avoid the fire and wreckage and get to the other end of the river to collect their gold all while making sure no one fell in the river or got left behind.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Roman Battle
Class 10 had a fantastic time doing Commando Joes! We pretended to be a Roman legion marching into battle! We were led by Miss Matley (who turned out to be a tough general!) and practiced marching in sync with each other by copying the person in front. We then split into smaller teams where we took turns being the commander and getting the rest of our team to follow our commands…blindfolded! It was hard work but we learned the importance of teamwork, including listening to the leader and finding kind ways of suggesting improvements.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Three Little Pigs
Class 3 have enjoyed taking part in Commando Joe's today. We had to go through the forest to collect new materials for the three little pigs to build their house with! We worked in teams to gather as many materials as we could.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Helping Goldilocks
Class 4 enjoyed completing a mission in their Commando Joe's session. They had to help Goldilocks cross a fast-flowing river. They worked together in teams and used different pieces of equipment to help Goldilocks cross the river.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Making Stars
This week in Commando Joe’s we had to make stars using our bodies! We worked in teams to create the shape of a star and make sure it had 5 points. We then had a go with cones, making a star shape.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - The Antarctic
In our Commando Joe’s mission today, we went to the Antarctic like our fellow explorer Ernest Shackleton. We were stuck on HMS Endurance and we had to send rowers out 2 at a time to collect food for our crew. We discussed appropriate food for a ship and to sustain 6 crew members for as long as possible. We developed communication and team work skills.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Crossing the River
Class 3 had lots of fun taking part in Commando Joe’s this week! We worked in groups to figure out how to cross the river using the equipment we had chosen. The children worked well together in their teams.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Obstacle Course
Our mission today was based upon the Nursery Rhyme - Jack and Jill. The children had to work in teams and in pairs to go over the obstacle course to collect some water (blue balls). The team with the most water in their bucket at the end was the winner. The children had to use their team work and communication skills to ensure that they didn't drop the water, or they had to start again! Well done class 1, great work. I think Commando Joe would be very proud.
Curriculum - Commando Joe's - Caterpillar Walking
Class 1 loved completing their first Commando Joe’s mission! They had to work as a team to walk as a caterpillar but some children had to walk with their eyes closed. This encourages team work and trust within the teams. We had a discussion about how it made us feel to walk around with our eyes closed. Well done class 1.