3rd March 2017

Friday 28th April 2017

THE MAGAZINE FOR MOUNTS BAY ACADEMY

STANDING OUT

Cover: Shakespeare at the Minack

Best wishes

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Sara Davey Academy Principal

This week our teaching team has been bursting with creativity as we make the final preparations for our forthcoming Project Week. As ever each Year Group will be taking part in some exciting activities which we will be showcasing in next week’s newsletter and on the website.

It’s all about you...

To celebrate our fantastic Creative Arts and Technology students, on Monday 3rd July, we will holding an exhibition of work by Year 9 and 11 GCSE students. Please put this date in your diary as there will be some fantastic pieces on show. It will also be an opportunity for you to sample some culinary delights created by the Catering students. The students are organising the exhibition themselves, and would love to be able to talk to you about their work.

The Place To Be Creative

Our Creative Arts and Events teams have also been very busy this week. Over 190 students in Year 9 and 11 have completed 10 hour Creative exams. In addition to this, they have also organised some amazing Drama, Dance and Music events as you will see in the newsletter.

We were also privileged to be the only school in Cornwall to be asked to play host to the internationally renowned St Petersburg Boychoir, who gave a workshop to students from our High Performance Music Institute and our own Boys’ Choir before enthralling us, and 100 primary school guests, with an unforgettable performance.

...and Finally

THEPLACE TO BEADVENTUROUS

This week’s Crew meetings led to some interesting discussions on “Making Lunchtimes Even More Enjoyable”, “The Academy In The Community” and how the school can help students with their use of social media on their own devices. We will be collating all the feedback in the next few weeks and putting some of your suggestions into place.

The Academy had two London Marathon participants last weekend. Year 11 student, Grace Brock, came third in the 3 Mile Mini Marathon and member of staff, Neil Eddy, running the full race, finished in an impressive 2 hours 34 mins. Well done to you both. I look forward to seeing you at a Hot Chocolate Friday soon!

BE YOURBEST

Da Vinci Award

The Year 10 Triple Chemists were asked to write a description of the methods of alcohol production and to compare them. Jenny Dash's work is, in my view, of Da Vinci quality as she has far exceeded my expectations. Jenny started by explaining the formation of fossil fuels, which while not being part of the task set, explains the structure of a hydrocarbon on which the structure of alcohol is based. Jenny then went into the extraction of crude oil, the processes involved in the separation of crude oil into its fractions and the further separation of long chain hydrocarbons into more useful short chain hydrocarbons, through cracking. The different methods of alcohol production were clearly explained and compared at a level of detail above that required for GCSE Chemistry, even down to the type of alcoholic beverages created by different types of yeast.

Get Collecting Now!Report by Mr Troup

The summary shows the depth of Jenny's understanding, which is considerable, and her detailed planning and determination.

EXCELLENCE REWARD

BEINSPIRED

We have been thrilled with the number of students achieving Word Millionaire status in Year 7. To date, 21 students have been awarded a Word Millionaire badge, certificate and a pair of cinema tickets to see a film of their choice.

Ziji Lee, Xander Linder and Hanul McCowan top the Word Millionaire table with all three students having read over four million words and passing 150 Accelerated Reader quizzes between them. Lokryn Corin and Jake Scotney have read over three million words each, whilst Rose Hammond, Iona Benson, Amy Jackson, Kensa Arthur and Leo Emerton have all reached double Word Millionaire status. Well done to Enid Kirk, Aidan Helliwell, Faith Medley, Charlie Harvey, Samuel Trelevan, Amyln Evans, Lilia Rowe, Anya Morales Hoyle, Enzo Favata, Harvey Allen, Leah Powell and Oscar Halls who have all surpassed the million word mark.

Word Millionaires

Report by Mrs Marsden

Popular reads amongst our Word Millionaires are the ‘Skulduggery Pleasant’ series by Derek Landy, ‘The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel’ (a series of six books by Michael Scott), ‘The Cherub’ series, by Robert Muchamore, ‘The Mortal Instruments’ series, by Cassandra Clare, and Michelle Paver’s ‘Wolf Brother’ series. Students are reading a diverse range of fiction from stories set six thousand years ago, present day teenage spy stories and dystopian fiction. All novels are available in our library.

BEINSPIRED

Last week, a few French students from our twinned town Concarneau visited the Academy and were paired up with our students.They spent most of the time in lessons with them for a full immersion, learnt to play cricket and found out about Cornish food! We finished the day on Friday with a cream tea where all students discussed their experiences, talked about differences and similarities of the school systems.

All students made the most of this opportunity to practise their French/ English and they certainly enjoyed the cultural and linguistic experience. Thank you to all the students involved, you made their experience unforgettable.

Emmy B (Year 8):"On Thursday I found being with my French buddy really fun (apart from losing her!) and it was really interesting because I didn't fully understand her. I'm pretty sure I was not always making sense either but at the end I learned a lot from her!"

Lois W-G (Year 8):"I really enjoyed having a French student. It was fun because we got to find out all about what life is like in France. We got to improve our French. I can’t wait to go out to France in May on the school trip!"

Ellie C (Year 10):"Last week, some French students from a school in Brittany came to Mounts Bay and we were paired up with them. I had a great experience meeting the students from France. I currently take French as my language and I have learnt a lot from my student that will benefit me and I feel I have taught her some English as well and we are still in contact. I have also learnt about French cuisine and it was fun to teach them what a cream tea is. I am going to France in May half term so I can do this all over again but learn all about France. This is one of the best exchanges I have done, and would love to do it again. I have learnt so much. Thanks to the language department for setting this up! "

French students from Concarneau visiting MBA.

Report by Miss Lejean

BEADVENTUROUS

On Monday, Mounts Bay students visited Peru, live volcanoes, Las Vegas and even toured the solar system, all thanks to Google Expeditions visiting the school.

Over 300 students experienced a Virtual Reality field trip and learned how the Google Expeditions app worked on mobile devices. Simon Elliott, Head of Computing, said “Thanks to Google staff bringing in 60 Google Cardboard VR goggles, our students were able to have an immersive experience. The atmosphere in each session was buzzing and Mr Jones, Mr Lees and Mr Orton led the sessions in a way that all students were able to benefit from this great technology”

Google Expeditions

Report by Mr Elliott

After the recent success of the Year 9 Art exams, I met my Year 9s on Monday with the promise of a treat (thanks to Mr Elliott for organising this). The students were very inquisitive, and one student in particular kept asking, 'Are you going to play a film?' The answer to that was, obviously, no.

What they soon discovered was that they were going to take part in a virtual reality experience organised by Google. When we got there, we were given the equipment, and were very quickly transported to a range of different locations around the world. Mr Jones narrated and explained where we were and what to look out for, and the students met his description with genuine shouts and squeals of amazement.

This was such a fun and creative experience, and it was great seeing the students completely lose their inhibitions and interact with the technology. It was a great example of 'educational play.'

The best part was, as we left the gym, the student previously mentioned turned to me, grinned and said, "That was much better than a film, Miss."

Report by Miss Green

On Wednesday 26th April 12 students from Years 7 and 8 headed to the Eden Project for the Kernow Youth Book Awards.

In total there were nine different schools from within the county each presenting about one of the six books shortlisted by KYBA.

Our students had chosen ‘The Art of Being Normal’ by Lisa Williamson. Straight after their performance there was a talk by the author herself. She had a lot of praise for our students and said that the scene they had chosen to adapt is one of her favourites. She specifically mentioned Jacca's depiction of Harry saying, "He captured the odious nature of Harry."

BECURIOUS

KYBA at the Eden Project

Report by Miss Dowrick

Our students were very enthusiastic and a credit to the school.

BEINSPIRED

As part of the continued First Aid training at the Academy, some of Mr Raggett's Year 9 Science class received training on how to use an automated external defibrillator, (AED). We now have three portable training devices and the students were taught basic life support, which included a primary survey, CPR and how to apply and operate the defibrillator. The school does have a public access AED which is accessible when the sports centre is open.

Defibrillator Training

Report by Miss Lejean

Congratulations to Skylar and Lamorna in Year 11 who passed their DELF exam. The girls went to London in March to take this qualification at the French Institute and got the result on Tuesday. This is an exceptional achievement and a step up to GCSE. Well done girls for your dedication and continuous hard work!

HPI French - DELF success!

Report by Mr Raggett

BEHEALTHY

Book Your Free Heart Screening Now!

Every week in the UK at least 12 young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions. Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) is an organisation working to reduce the number of young sudden cardiac deaths. CRY is running a free heart screening programme on Tuesday 9th May (09:10 - 15:40) and Wednesday 10th May (09:00 - 15:50) at Mounts Bay Academy. These services are open to anyone in the community aged between 14 and 35, and can easily be booked by visiting the CRY booking link (below).

The free screening sessions involve having an Electrocardiogram (ECG), which looks at the electrical conduction pathways around the heart. Small stickers, known as electrodes, are placed on the chest and the wires connect to an ECG machine whilst you lie still. A printout of the heart’s electrical activity is obtained for evaluation by the cardiologist. This test is painless, non-invasive and takes only a few minutes to perform. An Echocardiogram (Echo) is an ultrasound test (such as offered to pregnant women) which looks at the structure of the heart. From the information provided on screen, measurements are taken which give a guide to muscle thickness and the size of the chambers of the heart. Again, this test is non-invasive and painless; and it takes approximately 20 minutes to perform. The tests are performed with you lying down on a couch or bed. For both tests you will need to be undressed to the waist.

CRY offers all young, apparently healthy individuals the opportunity to be screened. The screening programme is not just for people who play sport. Most young people exert themselves to some extent at times, maybe running up and down stairs or running for a bus. So, deaths in sport or deaths in young people are not just confined to sports players or athletes, they may also occur in someone just jogging across the park to catch up with friends. CRY has no issues with any young individual coming to us requesting screening, no matter whether they are top sportsmen or playing minimal sport or taking part in minimal exercise.

For more information click here:

http://www.c-r-y.org.uk

To book your free appointment click here:

http://www.testmyheart.org.uk

Tassomai Top 10

The Tassomai App is being used by all Year 11s at the beginning of every Science lesson for 10 minutes.

It is a great revision tool: easy to use, and readily available for the students to use at home or in school.

Each week the top 50 students will be entered into a prize draw to win a £15 Amazon voucher.

The App has now been opened up to Year 10s.

Keep up the good work!

Year 11Year 11

1 Oscar Clive

2 Hannah James

3 Rosie Saddington

4 Nicola Enston

5 Ella Tattersall

6 Daniel Nowell

7 Olivia Jenkin

8 Tom Seymour

9 Alex Woollock

10 Skylar Finch

Report by Mr Troup

BEINSPIRED

The PiXL Maths App is a great revision app and website we are using with Year 11 during registration time each week.

It has proven results with students across the country and includes a combination of questions, videos and help sheets.

All students have the app on their iPad automatically. They can obtain their login details and more information from:

PiXL Maths App

Report by Mr Kent

Well done to:

TheoChloeRosieMaddySeanHannahKerenzaCalAaronMawgan

RossOliviaRubyHarrietTayaJoshuaFlorenceMaisy-SkyEmmaSian

This week the top form using the PiXL Maths App was 11 Purple who win themselves a box of Cadbury's Heroes.

https://mountsbay.fireflycloud.net/mathematics/revision/pixl-app

Each week the top students using the app will be awarded a prize. This is not a prize for the students who get the most questions correct; it is an engagement score, as we want students to be challenging themselves.

The top 20 students are listed below.

Keep up the great work Year 11.

maths

BECREATIVE

Year 10 GCSE Drama students performed an extract from ‘Twelfth Night’ on the stage of the Minack Theatre last Monday evening for the annual Secondary Schools’ Shakespeare Project. Miss Osborne adapted the original script to cover the first few scenes of Twelfth Night which included the shipwreck up to when Viola, disguised as a man, visits Olivia to woo her on behalf of Duke Orsino.

The MBA students’ performance was the only one to use original Shakespearean language as they tackled the opening scene of the play.

Shakespeare at the Minack

BECREATIVE

The Minack’s Associate Director, John Brolly, visited Mounts Bay on Wednesday 19th April and he offered some direction to improve on their acting skills and delivery of dialogue. John was very impressed with the structure of the piece. Miss Osborne, Head of Drama said: “I was really proud of the students and this was a great opportunity for them to perform in the magnificent open air theatre.”

BECREATIVE

Neda has developed a beautiful project over the last few months, addressing the theme of 'Landscape, Time and Mood'. Neda's analysis of the sea and the coast, where water meets land, has allowed her the time and space to simply reflect on the colours and marks built to capture the grandeur of our famous Cornish coastline.

Neda also challenged herself by using oil paints; this makes it easier to build texture but harder to handle blending with colour and then the adding of final, precise detail.

Artist of the Week

This week Artist of the Week is awarded to Neda Ladygaite in 9 Warm.

BECREATIVE

Report by Amy Green

Considering this, Neda has steadily built a mature, professional and reflective body of work. She has persevered, shown such resilience, and applied herself at all times. Comments from many staff and students over the last few days have been similar to 'Wow! You see things like that in local galleries!"

I hope this reminds Neda, but also the rest of our students who engage with creative subjects, that their outcomes are real, authentic pieces of art. Just because they were made in a classroom does not change their value, in fact, if anything it makes them more special.

It was really diverse and exciting showing from MBA and everyone really did us proud. A huge well done to all the performers.

BECREATIVE

Dance Club at Minack

On Thursday 20th April, Key Stage 3 students from Mounts Bay teamed up with Trythall Primary School to co-create a dance performance for The Minack Primary Dance Platform. The piece was inspired by the Myths and Legends of the Sea and, alongside the Dance teacher Suzie West, Year 10 Arts Award student Steffi Fashokun guided the young dancers through routines and creative tasks. The MBA Dance Club were amazing at supporting and encouraging the Key Stage 2 dancers and they performed an energetic and unified piece to a sell out audience of primary schools and parents. The weather was perfect for The Minack, not a cloud in the sky and superb turquoise seas were the backdrop for their oceanic masterpiece!

Suzie West said "We are very proud of both classes of students and how well they worked together. Steffi has created a lovely piece with the students and it was an aspirational experience for all involved; including the primary schools watching."

Report by Suzie West

BECREATIVE

On Monday night the Cornwall Music Education Hub held its annual Hub Sounds showpiece concert at the Hall For Cornwall. The event showcases the very best in music from across the county’s primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and community groups. We were lucky enough to be invited to have two slots on the bill for the second year running, and were in fact the only school or college with two slots.

Sisters Renae and Arianna Caddy were our first performers, debuting their brand new original song ‘You Are My Harmony’, which Renae wrote about Arianna! They stunned the 1000 strong audience with absolutely gorgeous harmonies and super catchy melodies, and got a huge and warm response from the crowd. It was also the first time Renae had ever played guitar at a gig, not that you would have known. It was an amazing performance. Of course, the song will be available on the school record label in July!

After the interval, the MBA Taiko group took the stage, led by Luke New. The group, made up of Ella Goulder, Elle Moyle, Tilly Stephens, Max Love, Bronwen Beacall, Zac Nicholas, Mason Fellows, Zoe Smart, Gordon Lou and Finley McAvoy performed a piece they have helped to compose themselves and gave a fierce and tight performance, again receiving a huge cheer from the crowd at the end of their set.

Students Perform at Hall for Cornwall

Renae and Arianna in their dressing room

Report by Darren Roberts

Athletics Success

Well done to our athletics teams who all qualified for the Cornwall School Games Super 8s in June. Teams which qualified are:Year 7 boys and girlsYear 8/9 boys and girlsYear 10 boys and girls

BECOMPETITIVE

Report by Mr Veal

Grace Third in London Mini Marathon

Grace Brock came third in the London Mini Marathon/British 3 Mile Championships in the Under 17 category at the weekend. She also finished first in her year! She was targeting a top 10 finish in order to get a place on the London Marathon National Young Athletes training camp in August. She ran three miles in 16.25 and was the first runner home in the South West team, which came third overall with Scotland first and the South East second.

Grace had a fantastic race. After a difficult start she pulled away with five other athletes and moved from fourth to third in the last 800 metres. The winner of the race, from Scotland, ran 16.09 (last year's winner ran 16.23) and is a member of the GB U20 cross country team and another GB U20 was in sixth place with other England runners also behind Grace.

The London Mini Marathon course is the last three miles of the main Marathon course and the young athletes are set off from Billingsgate in their age categories from 8.40am before the main Marathon.

Grace's medal and prize money will arrive in the post in the next couple of weeks (only the winner gets the presentation from Prince Harry on the day).

BECOMPETITIVE

We have kickstarted our very own primary girls football club that is running on Saturday mornings. The girls programme is known as the Mounts Bay Girls' Wildcats FC which allows primary girls to access weekly fun football outside of school hours.

Our slogan for the Wildcats is 'have fun, make friends, play football'. The Wildcats initiative has been launched by the FA to get more primary girls playing football and our centre here at Mounts Bay is one of 200 pilot projects across the country.

We have had a great start to the programme with 14 girls attending and we envisage the club growing from strength to strength for the future. We hope to find a future England Lioness out there somewhere.

BECOMPETITIVE

Mounts Bay Wildcats Launch

When: Saturday mornings, 10-11amWhere: Mounts Bay Academy Sports Centre (3G pitch)Cost: First session free, £3 per sessionAge: Open to primary aged girls in Years 1- 6Contact: Mr Kevin Lawrence klawrence@mountsbay.org

Report by Mr Lawrence

Mounts Bay Academy played Humphry Davy School in the Luke Bradwell Memorial Match at the Mennaye Field on Friday. The annual fixture raises awareness of Bone Cancer as well as raising funds for the Bone Cancer Awareness Trust, which was set up by the family and friends of Mounts Bay student Luke Bradwell, who passed away on the 3rd January 2012 after a valiant fight with Osteosarcoma.

BECOMPETITIVE

Luke Bradwell Memorial Match

Click on the link to find out more or to donate: http://www.bonecancerawarenesstrust.org/

Students remember Luke before the game

Well done to the Year 7 cricket side who beat Redruth in the County Cup first round.

BECOMPETITIVE

Cricket Win

Report by Mr Veal

Penwith PE cluster schools enjoyed four multi sports days at MBA over the Easter holidays. Each primary school receives PE Premium Funding and some schools join this together to create further opportunities. One initiative this year was to try and get more pupils active over the holidays.

Over 100 pupils attended at least one day, with 50 pupils attending each of the four days.

Primary Multi Sports

Report by Mr N Eddy

Pupils took part in a variety of sports, fun games and mini competitions.

BEA WINNER

Maths Quiz

This Week’s Puzzle:

Which of the following numbers is the odd one out?

459 314 268 527 145 638

Last week’s solution:

6 (opposite sectors sum to 21)

Could you write next week’s puzzle?If you would like to set the numeracy puzzle for a future week click here. You will win house points.

Win an iTunes voucher

Whoever submits the most correct answers over a semester will win an Amazon voucher – prizes are also awarded to the top scoring parent/carer/staff.

Click here to submit your answer

Closing date for Entries: Thursday 12:00

House Competition

Blue: 103 PointsGreen: 46 PointsRed: 39 Points

Orange: 32 PointsPurple: 25 PointsYellow: 21 Points

This Week’s House Totals

BEA WINNER

To enter, simply write an original sentence correctly using the word election. Send in your sentence using the link below.

Competition

Congratulations to Niamh Baldwin who wins 10 VIVO points.

Click here to enter the competition

This week’s word is: Election

Definition: A time when people vote in order to choose someone for a political office or job.

Etymology: Middle English, via Old French from Latin electio(n- ), from eligere ‘pick out’