the st leonards academy newsletter march 2012

Dear Parents

As we approach the Easter break, plans are gathering pace for our phased building programme due to begin on 23 April. This is an exciting time for the development of the Academy. We have had an excellent fi rst year so far with community confi dence in our provision growing as we become the school of choice for more of our local families. The £17m capital investment will enable us to plan and deliver our curriculum in 21st Century accommodation. We are working closely with the construction company, Kier, to ensure our focus on the quality of our provision is not compromised during the programme. The artist’s impression below shows the courtyard which will be at the heart of the Academy with our fi ve ‘schools’ in remodelled and extended accommodation.

Our Year 11 students, supported by their teachers, deserve tremendous credit for their commitment and endeavour in preparation for their fi nal exams. We are confi dent they will do themselves and the Academy proud as we prepare for the summer exams.

Our fi rst Academic Review Day was very successful and received positive endorsement by the overwhelming majority of parents – attendance overall was 95%. Thank you for your support.

I hope you enjoy reading our fourth newsletter, packed with all the news and events from the Academy’s busy term.

Have an enjoyable Easter break.

newsletterT E R M 4 : m a r c h 2 0 1 2

The SLA Local Advisory Board and Parents’ Forum

We have a vacancy for a parent representative on our LAB which meets three times a year and is chaired by a member of The Hastings Academies Trust Board. We are developing a vibrant Parents’ Forum which meets regularly with Mr Francies and values parents’ involvement in the development of the Academy.

Interested parents who would like to join the Forum, please contact Jon Francies, Vice Principal at offi [email protected]. If you would like to be a representative on the Local Advisory Board, please contact the Clerk at [email protected].

Jenny Jones, PrincipalThe St Leonards Academy

Year 8 Parents’ Consultation

This will now take place on Thursday 19 April, 4.00pm-7.00pm at the Darwell Campus.

Students will be making appointments with subject teachers. There will be the opportunity to attend a short presentation on the Curriculum for next year at 5.00pm or 6.30pm.

contents

02 ‘You’re Welcome’ at The SLA

Just saying “Thanks”!

03 Visits to the University of Sussex

04 The SLA Students try out a New Sport

The Olympic Experience Passport

GCSE Photography Trips

05 Rock Challenge

Time to Dance Festival

06 BT Fleet Visit

Investor Careers

07 Outstanding Practical Work

08 Dance Idol

The SLA Catches the ‘Reading Plague’

09 ... and the KS3 Science Oscars go to...

Attendance - Every Day Counts

10 Gifted & Talented

11 Striving for Excellence

Young Enterprise

12 Enrichment Opportunities

14 Year 7: Turing

16 Creativity: Da Vinci

17 Vivo Miles at The Academy

18 Discovery: Darwin

20 Essentials: Austen

21 Globality: Churchill

22 Student Voice

23 Academies Success at County Finals

Jerwood Ambassadors

24 Dates for Your Diary

Sierra Leone Mufti Day

Health Help Information

02 PRIDE THROUGH SUCCESS

The St Leonards Academy has achieved ‘You’re Welcome’ status. This standard has been developed by the Department of Health to allow young people to have a say in the development of health services they access.

The School Nursing Team worked very hard to achieve this mark which involved the Academy meeting a very high standard in

• involving young people in service improvement

• enhancing patient experience • increasing young people’s opportunity to

share in decisions about their health

Audrey Rogers and Debbie Mentessi, the School Nurses who co-ordinated the Academy’s application, said, “We are thrilled that The St Leonards Academy has been awarded this status. Our aim is to work with the young people and the Academy to ensure a safe, young people-friendly service.”

(Left to right): Linda Harding: Multi-Agency Manager,

Dena Francis: School Nurse, Debbie Mentessi: School Nurse Practice Teacher,

Audrey Rogers: School Nurse

‘You’re Welcome’ at

The St Leonards Academy

Just saying “Thanks”!

Thank you very much to Ashley Gladwish, Zack Hedges, Jamie Nye and Andrew Saxby, pupils on the Construction Course, for the good work they carried out at Darwell Campus, keeping us safe during the snowy weather. Well done.

Deon Johnson-PalmerAshley

GladwishZack

Hedges Jamie Nye

Andrew Saxby

Several Year 10s and 11s have spent a day at the University of Sussex to get a fl avour of what it would be like to be a student. They selected workshops to attend that included lectures, fi nance talks and a campus tour.

The courses on offer during the week were:

• Law, Sociology, Politics, International Relations, Geography, History, Social Work, Working with Children and Young People.

• So you want to be a Scientist, Huh?, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics, Mathematical Sciences, Biology and Neuroscience: Eyes and Brains, Biochemistry: DNA, Neuroscience: Music to your ears.

• Accountancy and Finance, Business and Management, Economics, Maths (with Economics), Product Design, Engineering, Computer Science and Games and Multimedia Environments.

• The Campus Tour and Student Finance Explained.

the st leonards academy 03

Visits to University of Sussex

“Interesting day, the student finance talk was very helpful.”

Ting Yan Guo & Catherine

“Today was enlightening! Loved learning about uni life.”

Chloe & Kim

“Gave a great insight to university life and the opportunities that we could have.”

Holly-Louise & Katie

f

“It was very interesting to learn about life in uni.”

Ryan


St Leonards Academy students try out new sports!

Ten Year 8 students identifi ed as Gifted and Talented in Physical Education were chosen from The St Leonards Academy to attend an Alternative Sports Day at the University of Brighton. The day was led by the University lecturers, trainee teachers and coaches.

The students had an amazing experience trying out new activities. Their fi rst new sport was ‘Kin Ball’, played with an enormous pink ball, almost as tall as the students! The rules and skills were picked up quickly and a full game was soon in action.

Another new ball sport introduced to the students was ‘Tchoukball’, a mix of handball and other games. The youngsters then found themselves on waveboards learning street surfi ng skills. The students were thoroughly exhausted after completing the day with swimming

activities as well. Schools from across Sussex and Kent were invited to attend the day.

GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY TRIPS

Over the last few weeks Mr Sangster and Mrs Hedges have been escorting GCSE Photography classes down to Old Town, Hastings and Rock-a-Nore, to respond to their exam theme of ‘ordinary or extraordinary’. The students have up to eight weeks to prepare for their exam by researching photographers, experimenting with different materials and, most importantly, recording as many different ideas photographically.

The Old Town is full of such interesting architecture, shop fronts and people – combine this with the unique environment that is Rock-a-Nore, the students had a plethora of opportunities to explore the theme of their exam. Some students focused on the ‘extraordinary’ shops in the Old Town, whilst others recorded the wealth of fi shing boats and ‘ordinary’ activity of the fi shing fl eet at Rock-a-Nore. The students left with enough images and ideas to bring back to the classroom and begin manipulating both manually and digitally.

Students can now either use the photographs and ideas they gained from the trip or take an entirely new idea to develop – either way they have to ensure they are ready for their 10 hour exam at the end of April.

The Olympic Experience

Passport – developing

Skills for life

This term has seen the launch of the Olympic Experience Passport across the Academy. Students have been given a colour passport and asked to collect staff signatures in the Olympic rings. These are based on the Olympic values of determination, excellence, courage, friendship and respect. For each staff signature collected and each ring completed, students are being awarded Vivos. The passport has been well received and a number of students are near completion already. Once completed students are awarded 100 Vivos and their name added to the prize draw for the Olympic tickets the Academy has secured.

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Rock Challenge 2012

The Be Your Best Rock Challenge event was held at The Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, on Monday 12 March and was another fantastic opportunity for our students to shine. Our Rock Challenge entry, titled Stolen by the Sea, was our representation of the local fi shing community and its 1000 year history. Through this piece we explored the ever-changing nature of the sea and the way that this has shaped our local town over time.

The piece was very well received by the other competing schools, judges and the audience - one judge described the piece as “serene, but thought-provoking and very well executed. I loved it!”

The 50 strong group of students performed to their very best and were rewarded with four awards: Best Lighting, Best Video Performance, Best Makeup and The Spirit of Rock Challenge - this award is for the friendliest, most approachable and supportive school to others on the day, and I am very proud of each and every member of our team; the dancers, stage crew, hair and makeup, and video directors. Well done and thank you for all your hard work.

Time To Dance Festival

The St Leonards Academy was honoured to be asked to put three dance pieces in this year’s Time to Dance Festival held at the Phoenix Theatre.

This is the annual dance show put on by the Hastings and Rother School Games Partnership. This was an opportunity for Years 9 and 11 BTEC and GCSE dancers to perform pieces based on the theme of Faster, Higher, Stronger - a tribute to the London Olympics 2012. All three pieces were very well received.

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We are pleased to say that both Academies had their part 1 of Investors in Careers Award approved. Below are some of the activities we have

had to show we are involved in:

• The Board of Directors for the Hastings Academies Trust pledged their commitment to supporting the achievement of the award

• All the staff attended a training session called Curriculum, Pathways, Careers Advice and Guidance

• Our CEIAG (Careers Education, Information Advice and Guidance) policy has been reviewed, and will take account of national changes. Key staff have attended training to ensure our provision is up to date.

• Miss Nash has been promoted to Head of PSHE, and is working closely with our partners ‘My Future Starts Here’ has designed an exciting programme of activities for all students. They have also provided careers interviews for many students, it has been good to see parental support at many of these appointments.

• Years 8, 9 and 10 are all involved in challenge days that involve local business people. Year 10 students are about to select their work experience placements.

• We have a well established system of reporting progress that will help us support students in making informed choices.

• The School Council is carrying out a review of our current provision and will help us identify areas for improvement.

• Our careers webpage www.hasla.org.uk/careers has an email button to allow anyone to make suggestions as to how we can keep everyone up to date with the impartial advice we are committed to providing.

BT Fleet Visit

On the last day of Term 4, our Year 11 students who are interested in a career in engineering visited the BT Fleet workshop in Aylesford to take part in an ‘Industry Awareness Day’. Our sponsor, BT, is keen to help students of the Academy develop skills that will help them fi nd employment in the future and this experience did just that.

Denise Westbury Haines from BT arranged for myself and Mr Cousens to attend the Fleet workshop to meet Joe Fielder, Sales Director, to discuss the kind of activities the students would fi nd benefi cial.

On the day of the visit the students had a talk from the managing director, the sales executive and several apprentices. The talk covered the huge range of services that the workshop offers and then the students were shown around the premises. The boys then serviced the school minibus under the direction of the head mechanic and followed an MOT check list on one of the BT vans whilst wearing some very trendy overalls! The students all

did very well on the test and said they were treated as if they were royalty.

The managing director was extremely impressed with the behaviour and attitude of the Academy students and is keen to continue to offer this kind of experience in the future.

Amber Smith

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Outstanding practical work

Well done to the GCSE food group who really pulled it together for its fi nal assessed practical with almost everyone achieving A or A* grades. The group now has a really pleasing theme for its exam preparation with a context of a balanced diet and a theme of pasta dishes.

Lewis MillarChantelle Harmer Callum Tutt

Jamie SimpsonJoshua O’Toole Matthew Eaglan

Emily Parsons

Corey Martin

Samuel Burgess

Katrina Jackson Sophie Rumary

Sophie WestKirsty Livingstone Senang Rai

Charlie McGuiganChChChChChCharararlilililililie e e McMcMcMcMcGuGuGuGuGuigigigigigigananan

JaJamimimie SiSiSimpson

The St Leonards Academy hosted a fantastic ‘Dance Idol’ event with over 50 students performing to a packed audience of 200 parents and friends. There was a wonderful atmosphere, with students from all years performing dances they had choreographed themselves.

There were both solo and group dances, and medals were awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in both Key Stage 3 and 4 in each category. The judges had a hard job choosing but in the end the judges’ choice winners were

Dance Idol

Dance Idol KS3 Solos:1 – Chloe Stretton2 – Brent Fletcher3 – Mohammed Teal

Groups:1 – Dolls’ House2 – Skinny Love3 – FX

Dance Idol KS4 Solos:1 – Rachel Chalcroft2 – Hannah Barnes

Groups:1 – Brayversity2 – Set Us On Fire3 – Kickin’ the Standards

The audience then picked the overall Dance Idol Winner and it was great to see a mixed group win this year, Brayversity, comprising of Kaith Domingo, Natalie Little and Wesley and Bradley Bray. This was a great fundraising event to help towards this year’s Rock Challenge dance entry.


rdsHannah Barnes & Rachel Chalcroft

Chloe Stretton

Overall Dance Idol Winner: Brayversity

The St Leonards Academy catches the ‘Reading Plague’

Students and staff recently celebrated World Book Day beginning with a visit from the author Kevin Graal, who ran a series of storytelling workshops with some of the students in Year 7 who really enjoyed the creative way that Kevin told his stories.

The celebrations then continued throughout the week with the students eager to ‘Catch the Reading Plague’ by capturing pictures of their friends and family reading anything from their cat reading the Academy Newsletter to their parents reading!

The festivities concluded on Thursday 1 March with the students having the opportunity to dress up as their favourite character from a story, take part in a treasure hunt around the Academy and fi nally to take part in a whole Academy ‘Drop Everything and Read’ at the end of the day.

Teacher Sarah Doherty said, “All of the students had a fantastic day showing off their favourite books and searching for the hidden treasure around the building. At the Academy we believe that reading for pleasure is a vital part of the students’ education and we regularly encourage them to read through the use of the Accelerated Reading Programme”.


KS3 Science Oscars are awarded to one student in each School. Nominations are given by Science teachers who think that a particular student has shown outstanding Science skills.

Oscar winners for this term are:

Austen SchoolMatthew Stevens for working independently to achieve a high level of work which has exceeded expectations.

Da Vinci SchoolGeorge Parsons for high achievement in Science lessons.

Darwin SchoolMichael Watson for consistently high levels of effort in lessons and homework tasks.

Churchill School Heather Jury for consistently working well in all Science lessons, producing excellent homework and achieving impressive grades.

Turing SchoolJames Padgham for working extremely hard to improve his Science understanding and producing excellent pieces of homework.

All winners will take home a Science Oscar to look after for the next term, 100 Vivos and a certifi cate.

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL!

... And the KS3 Science

Oscars go to...

The St Leonards Academy is clearly committed to improving student attendance and tackling any truancy. We have a whole school approach which reinforces good attendance as a critical factor to enable all students to fulfi l their full potential.

Full attendance is best achieved when parents work in partnership with us.

Our aim is:• To ensure every student has access to full-time

education• To ensure students succeed whilst at the

Academy• To ensure students have access to the widest

possible range of opportunities when they leave school

This will only be possible with good attendance.

As a parent/carer you are responsible for ensuring your child’s regular attendance, including his/her punctual arrival at school. A parent/carer is also responsible for contacting the school on the fi rst day of absence. At the Academy we have a sharp and focused internal escalation procedure to deal with absences.

We operate as follows:• First day calling for absent students• Letters sent home if we are unable to make

contact• Early intervention when an individual student’s

attendance gives cause for concern• Meetings with parents and students to discuss

any issues affecting attendance• Reports are issued and detentions set for

truancy. Home contact is made

We have developed a multi-agency approach to improve attendance in supporting students and their families. Request for holidays in term time are discouraged and where made are handled consistently at a senior level.

Please do not hesitate to contact Nicky Sully, Head of Student Support, if you have any concerns regarding school attendance.

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Attendance - Every Day Counts


It’s alright to be bright!

“Meeting the needs of the gifted and talented is about building on a good general school provision, not something entirely different.” (Professor Deborah Eyre)

Every Child Known is at the core of our Academy and as such our vision is to create the opportunity for every student to excel and have a sense of achievement, working on the principle that every child can be successful.

Our differentiated teaching and personalised learning provides for every student and helps them to be better rather than be the best. Gifted and Talented provision “is not about identifying winners but it’s about making winners out of ordinary people.” (Chris Yapp)

Our aim is to identify as many learners as possible with the objective of raising motivation, aspiration and achievement for all learners, especially with fostering the idea of “It’s alright to be bright”.

It is recognised nationally that some children demonstrate exceptional ability in, for example, certain subjects, creative or productive thinking, or in qualities of leadership.

The term ‘Gifted’ is usually associated with the top 5-10% of youngsters in these subjects. The term ‘Talented’ applies to youngsters in the top 5-10% of subjects covering visual or performance arts or sport (sources of information from: Teacher Assessment/End of Key Stage 2 and a variety of other ‘levelled’ assessments/results of Cognitive Ability Tests - CATs).

These fi gures are used in relation to each cohort at The St Leonards Academy. However, the fi nal identifi cation decision is left with the teacher of every subject, who has a greater insight of the potential of each student he or she teaches.

In line with the NAGC model (http://www.nagcbritain.org.uk) we as an Academy seek to enable Gifted and Talented students from all backgrounds to fulfi l their potential. This is imperative if our learners are to successfully face today’s challenges living in a culturally diverse and global society.

Gifted & Talented


Young Enterprise

The local fi nals are fast approaching, and the Academy’s team is still working hard to bring things together. The boys are busy working on an Easter gift, with a last push at improving their profi ts for the year. The girls are working on the fi nal accounts and preparing their presentation for the local fi nals. Recently, team representatives had a pre-fi nal run through at the Azur, which allowed them to practice their presentation in public, and learn how to use a microphone effectively. It was really pleasing to see ex-student Mikey Simpson displaying the skills he learnt through participating in Young Enterprise, now representing the area board, giving advice to the teams on how to present themselves professionally at the fi nals. We wish them all the best for the local fi nals on Wednesday 28 March.

Go public Make a detailed revision timetable on a large piece of paper (A3 at least) and post it up somewhere that everyone can see it. That way, everyone knows what you are meant to be studying and when.

Strangely enough, letting other people know your plans actually lightens the load, because then it’s not just down to you to motivate yourself. Rather like getting married, you feel more committed to your vows if a lot of people have seen you make them at the wedding!

Catch the worm Just like those wriggling soil-dwellers, facts are at their most available and digestible fi rst thing in the morning. Start at 9am, and you can get the bulk of your revision done early, so you don’t spend the rest of the day feeling crushed under the weight of unread folders.

Ask questions of yourself Facts are sluggish, passive creatures and lie piled up inside your head, without giving off any signs of life. You can, however, awaken them through the power

of questions. So when you’re making notes, don’t just write down ‘The Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066’; instead, put ‘When was the Battle of Hastings?’ in one column, and write ‘1066’ in an opposite column.

De-digitalise You should unplug your computer or laptop as it’s simply too tempting to go off roaming the wide, open spaces of Web-fordshire, instead of ploughing through the causes of World War 2. It is also imperative to turn off your mobile

phone (one distraction too many).

Come up with mnemonics The word stands for Make Names Easily Memorable by Organising Nominated Initial Characters. The website Student UK suggests My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas as a way of remembering the nine planets in order of distance from the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto).

Believe in bananas Take a leaf out of the top tennis players’ books and make use of this potassium-rich performance-enhancer to raise your energy levels. When Federer and Nadal need a lift, they don’t reach for a courtside cup of black coffee, they dip into their kitbags and unzip a banana.

Quality time Ask friends over for a revision session. With things like dates and vocabulary, it’s always better if someone else is testing you, rather than you testing yourself (and peeking at the answers).

Striving For Excellence

There are many of our students preparing for their GCSE examinations in the next few months and the exam season will soon be upon us. In order to prepare yourselves during the Easter holiday we have put together some revision exam tips for you:

ENRICHMENT opportunitiesWe aim to provide the students with a wide range of exciting enrichment opportunities throughout the year. Please fi nd below a table of current clubs and activities which they are welcome to attend.

Art Club (CRI)

Mon & Thu 3.05 - 4.15 Darwell Years 9, 10 & 11

Badminton(DGR)

Mon 1.35 - 2.05 Darwell Sports Hall

Year 7

Coding Club (PJA)

Mon & Tue 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm E24

All Welcome

Gym(TBE/JEV/MLA)

Mon 3.05 - 4.15 Darwell Gym All Welcome

Homework Club (CST)

Mon-Fri 3.05 - 4.30 Darwell All Welcome

The Pirates of Penzance(AHE)

Mon 3.10 - 4.45 Darwell Year 7

Street Surfi ng(SNA)

Mon 3.05 - 3.40 Edinburgh Sports Hall

All Welcome - You must sign up outside PE Offi ce

Young Consumer(GDE)

Mon 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm E11

Selected students

Boys’ Basketball(REL)

Tue 1.35 - 2.00 Edinburgh Years 9 & 10 Boys

Christian Union(COL)

Tue 1.35 - 2.00 Darwell Library

All Welcome

Homework Club (JAL)

Tue, Wed & Thu

3.05 - 4.30 Edinburgh LRC

All Welcome

Badminton (outside coach) £2.60

Tue 5.30 - 7.30 Edinburgh All Welcome, when there are still spaces

Football(LBO)

Tue 11.10 - 11.40 Edinburgh Astro Turf

Years 10 & 11, non-football team

Writing Club(JWA)

Tue 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm E50

All Welcome

Young Enterprise(GDE)

Tue 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm E11

Selected students

Athletics(DGR/NHA/MLA/JEV)

Wed 3.05 - 4.15 Darwell All Welcome

Athletics(LBO/RSA/EBE/SNA)

Wed 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh All Welcome

Cooking Club(SDO)

Wed 3.05 - 4.15 Darwell Rm 15

Year 7

Expedition & First Aid(GDE)

Wed & Thu 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm E11

Selected Students

GCSE Media(SPA)

Wed 3.15 - 4.30 Edinburgh Rm C3

GCSE Media Students

GCSE PE(GWA)


Year 10

GCSE PE(REL)

Wed 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm L63

Years 10 & 11 GCSE Students


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History Catchup(MMU/CHO/JSM)

Wed & Thu

Mon & Fri (by appointment only)

3.05 - 4.00 Edinburgh GCSE Students: Years 9, 10 & 11

Photography Catchup (EMI)


All GCSE Photography Students

Photography (DSA)

Wed 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm E63

Year 11

Singing Club (GBR)

Wed 3.05 - 4.20 Edinburgh Years 8, 9, 10 & 11

Table-tennis:£2.60 (TBE)


STEM (Science) Club (RCO/EBA/MLO)


STEM (Science) Club Wed 3.05 - 4.15 Darwell All Welcome

K-NEX Club(JEV)

Thu 8.00 - 8.45 Darwell Rm 3

Year 7

Arts & Craft (LMI/CTA)

Thu 3.15 - 4.15 Darwell Year 7

ASD Youth Club(COL/TBO/JWI)

Thu 3.05 - 4.30 Edinburgh LSF

ASD Students

Build a House(GDE)

Thu 3.05 - 4.15 Darwell Selected Students

Debating Club (JWA)

Thu 3.05 – 4.15 Edinburgh LRC

GCSE Students Only

Drama Productions (AHE)

Thu 3.05 - 4.45 Edinburgh All Welcome

ELITE/TEKKERS(REL/SNA)


ELITE/TEKKERS(DGR/MHE/NHA/JEV/MLA)

Thu 3.05 - 4.15 Darwell All Welcome

Film Club (SPA)


GCSE PE Revision(MLA)


Year 11 GCSE Students

GCSE Spanish Revision(SBU)


GCSE Spanish Students

Geography Revision (MSP)

Thu 3.05 - 4.00 Edinburgh Rm E13

GCSE Geographers

Glyndebourne Young Voices (DBE)

Thu 3.05 - 4.00 Darwell Years 7 & 8

Sierra Leone Club(MSP)

Thu 1.35 - 2.00 Edinburgh Rm13

All Welcome

Photography (DSA)

Thu 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh Rm E63

Year 10

Gym (KWE/TBE)

Fri 3.05 - 4.15 Edinburgh All Welcome

National Saturday Art Club: Free (CRI)

Sat 10.00 - 1.00 Sussex Coast College

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The end of this term signals the half-way point for the academic year, as well as an important point at which we can measure the progress our Year 7 students have made since joining us in September. It is generally acknowledged that students experience a dip in progress when moving between key stages. Some research suggests that the performance dip can be as high as 39% which is astounding when translating that into National Curriculum Levels. In educational terms, students who make two sub-levels of progress in an academic year are considered to be making ‘expected progress’, whilst those making three sub-levels of progress are referred to as making ‘good progress’. In practical terms, a student who fi nished Key Stage 2 working at a Level 4B would be making expected progress if they achieved a Level 5C and good progress if they achieved a 5B by the end of Year 7. Any progress in excess of three sub-levels in an academic year is quite remarkable. When considering the expectations we have of students’ progress in the light of an expected performance dip at the start of Year 7, we certainly have our work cut out for us.

Using the attainment data from the latest set of Progress Reports handed out at our recent Academic Review Day, an astounding picture emerges in Year 7. Currently, only half way through the academic year, 90% of students are making expected or better progress in English while 82% are doing the same in Maths. In Science, 84% of our students are making expected or better progress. Importantly, more than half are making good or better progress already, with 34% already moving up a whole level in Maths. This excellent progress is in complete contrast to the performance dip experienced right across the country and is testament to the hard work our Year 7 students and staff have demonstrated since September. Well done Turing School!

On another note, we have had a busy term again with a range of activities and events. A few weeks ago we had a local storyteller, Kevin Graal, visit us. Kevin Graal is an experienced storyteller and educator with an extensive repertoire of traditional stories, riddles, songs and games from around the world. Over the past 20 years he has established a reputation for excellence in a wide range of work, from performances for children and young people to teacher-training workshops

and collaborations with leading arts organisations such as the National Theatre and Tate Modern. Kevin hosted workshops with several of the Year 7 classes, as well as a more challenging workshop for some of our most able students.

year 7:

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01

Mr Zak ViceHead of School


The Alan Turing Year 2012 will be a celebration of the life and scientifi c infl uence of Alan Turing on the occasion of the centenary of his birth in 1912.

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Kevin Graal

The University of Brighton also visited us this term to run its highly successful ‘Star Student’ programme. Star Student is an interactive game for Year 7 pupils, which aims to raise awareness of university and the opportunities available in higher education. The game is led by a member of the University’s Widening Participation team supported by Uni students. It focuses on different aspects of university life – educational, social and fi nancial. Each session lasted for an hour and students worked in teams to collect points by successfully completing tasks for which they were awarded points.

Happy Easter!

oUR ‘STUDENTS OF THE WEEK’

A huge well done goes out to the following students:

20 February 2012

12 March 2012

5 March 2012

27 February 2012

Christian White

7S1

Kayce Ockenden

7S2

Sinead Bedwell

7S3

Joel Thomson

7S4

Tia-Louise Jones 7L1

Erik Verebely

7L2

Lauren Ripley

7L3

Billy Kearn

7L4

Holly Woollard

7A1

Katherine Green 7A2

Ben Hammond

7S1

Paige Vale7S2

Neave Sears7S3

Sophie Billett

7S4

Alexia Murrell

7L1

Sidney Da Silva

7L2

Charlie Barnard

7L3

Angelica Lake 7L4

Andros Earl 7A2

Zak Kenward

7S1

Sophie Jordan

7S2

RobynWilde7S2

Chloe Philpott

7S3

Jack Johnson

7S4

Lily Beall7L1

Ervin Arapaj

7L2

Joy Overbury

7L3

PerryChapman

7L4

HollyWoollard

7A1


BronwynKent 7S1

Brandon Darch7S2

Brent Fletcher

7S3

RianMcDonald

7S4

Rebecca Chamberlen

7L1

BenBaker 7L2

MillieCrosby

7L3

Jocelyn Charlesworth

7L4

Chloe

Hampson Rush

7A1

JazmineJones 7A2

19 March 2012

Matthew Reading

7S1

Bethany Woolford

7S2

KassieAkompe

7S3

AdamAldridge

7S3

OmerKacar7S4

Ayesha Shoesmith

7L1

AlvinDasi 7L2

Taij Aggnie-Elliott

7L3

Reanne Seggar-Freyne

7L4

LukeElliott 7A2

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Star Student

Nandi Luthuli is to be commended for her continued effort and outstanding achievements.

From the Edinburgh Campus Nandi has 100% attendance. She is a delightful student who always engages positively with her peers and her subject teachers. She is polite and supportive of others in and around the Academy and her attitude to her academic studies is exemplary. Well done, Nandi!

creativity:

da vinci

Mrs Trish Rowland Head of School


Team Building: Darwell Campus

We recently held another team building event for our students and it was a very enjoyable workshop with lots of activity going on! Several teams from the tutor groups based at Darwell took part in a construction workshop. The teams had to construct a building from newspaper – impossible you say – not for our students! There was a great atmosphere as the teams worked tirelessly to create a fantastic structure which would house them all! The skills they acquired during this session included: communication, co-operation, listening, working as part of

a team, leadership and patience – especially when the machinery for rolling the newspapers didn’t work! Well Done to all of you – the Edinburgh Campus did the same workshop on the Friday 16 March – watch this space next term for photos of their day!

Nandi Luthuli

Building on Success

Since last term Da Vinci students have been really focused on attendance and we have seen a signifi cant improvement in our overall attendance fi gures. We can only remind students that full attendance at school will provide them with the best opportunities for achievement and I congratulate all students who are regularly striving to improve their attendance. Our current fi gure is 93%. Fantastic! By the end of Term 5 I would like to see attendance at 95% - so come on Da Vinci students, let’s get working at achieving that target!

RECOGNISING ACHIEVEMENT

Our top 10 Vivo earners for this term are shown in the table below. WELL DONE!

A Bright Star among us

Bright Temba is a Rye United Under 16s footballer. He recently made a sensational debut for the Sussex Under 18 team. Bright scored two goals during the match. Well done Bright, we’ll be cheering you on in the future!


Jordan Catton Y8: “Vivos are good – it’s something you can do online and can access your rewards from home. I like the shop – but I haven’t bought anything just yet.”

Georgina Durrant Y8: “ They’re really good – you can pick what you want from a range of products. I especially like the vouchers you can get. I’ve got 839 Vivos and I’m saving mine to spend all in one go at the end of Y8”.

Demi Mitchell Y11: “Vivos are great because teachers give us more rewards now. I like looking in the shop and I have 400 Vivos already.”

Olivia Duffey Y11: “ Vivos are alright and they work really well for the younger students. It’s a better system than we had before.”

Toby Smith Y11: “ Vivos are a very good reward system. We need more time to be able to browse the site though and buy things online.”

If you have any further suggestions for Vivo Miles please let Mrs Rowland know.

Remember – keep collecting your Vivo Miles!

Vivo Miles At The Academy

Designed by schools for schools, Vivo Miles is an award-winning web-based rewards system. Used in 80 local authorities, Vivo Miles has proven its ability to improve student motivation as well as raise attendance and GCSE grades.

It is quite hard to believe that we are just over half way through our fi rst academic year as an Academy and there have been many success stories so far with Vivo Miles having quite an extraordinary effect on staff and students! In other words it has proven to be hugely successful – and to date we have issued 739, 641 Vivo Miles. The online shop is being used regularly and we are encouraging those students who have not started using the programme to get online! We can also reveal that since the launch of this rewards system – Year 7 has collected the most Vivo Miles – 178,615 – well done to Year 7!

We asked some students what they thought of Vivo Miles – here’s what they had to say:

Degrresh

GereyoI casaat

Jo– anhobo

Ge

Olalthsy

Togotith

If ou have an

vivomiles.com

discovery:

darwin

Ms Rachel Mountford Head of School


Meet the tutors

Every Child Known is a corner stone of the new Academy ethos and small tutor groups play a key role in making that reality. Our recent Academic Review Day provided a fantastic opportunity to build those relationships with your child’s champion in school, the person who has the overview of all aspects of their school life and achievements. We hope and believe our tutors really know the students they work with but the question is how well does your child know them?

Students: Do you think you can pick your tutor out from the interviews below? Who is the tutor who once base-jumped off a building in Australia? Who played bassoon with the London Symphony Orchestra? Can you match up the tutors with their details? If you think you know who is who get your answers in to the Darwin Offi ce, or your tutor at either campus, and prizes will be awarded in the second week of term for the most correct answers. We will also put the answers up on the noticeboards around school for everyone to see later. (Please note that each interview is next to the wrong picture - can you fi gure out where they should go?) Next issue I want to celebrate more of what makes you unique so make sure you share your hobbies and interests with your tutor.

Name: ___________________________Hobbies: Art, Shopping, Travel, being with friendsFamily/pets: Married, and have a cat. Favourite band/ Type of music: Jack Johnson, Snow Patrol, Blink 182, The Strokes, New Found GloryFavourite fi lm: Don’t really have one but the last fi lm I really laughed at was Bridesmaids Favourite food: Anything Italian or Thai (but veggie!) Interesting fact: I have jumped off the Sky Tower in Auckland 192m base jump with a wire. Best thing about the Academy: The great relationships I have with pupils in my classes

Name: ___________________________Hobbies: Golf, computing, South Park, Medieval re-enactmentFamily/pets: 2 younger sisters, two older brothers, cat, tortoise.Favourite band/ Type of music: Techno/trance/dance/folk Favourite fi lm: TwilightFavourite food: Spicy FajitasInteresting fact: My hair used to be 18 inches longBest thing about the Academy: The secret underground passageway to the pub!

Name: __________________________Hobbies: Wargaming, World of Warcraft, walkingFamily/pets: 2 children, 4 rabbits, 4 chinchillas, 1 wifeFavourite band/ Type of music: Big range from classical through to Marilyn MansonFavourite fi lm: Horror and Sci-FiFavourite food: PizzaInteresting fact: Once met Leonard Nimoy at a Star Trek convention

Name: __________________________Hobbies: Knitting, readingFamily/pets: Married for 26 years, 4 children, 1 grandson, 1 dog, 2 catsFavourite band/ Type of music: My family, husband, 2 sons, & daughter are all singers & guitarists.Favourite fi lm: Dirty DancingFavourite food: IndianInteresting fact: My poetry has been used in English GCSE Exam PapersBest thing about the Academy: The students are fab!

Mrs Evans

Ms Mountford

Mr ColemanMrs Ackerley


Amber Gurr

Isabel Perkins

Ben Barraclough

Josh Wildman

Charlie Bridger

Emma Pearce

James Hannaford

Shannon Fuller

Abbie Yates

Ellie Bourner

Josh Peckham

Hollie Chidgey

Paige Cooper

Isobel Perkins

Jessica Stoodley

Joshua smith

Ashley Smith

Sam Ayres

Spenser Smart

StudentS of the Week

Name: __________________________Hobbies: NetballFamily/pets: Cat called SukiFavourite band/ Type of music: Anything!Favourite fi lm: Love ActuallyFavourite food: Sticky toffee puddingInteresting fact: I’m from Essex!Best thing about the Academy: The kids! Mr O’Neill

Name: __________________________Hobbies: Reading, cooking, sewing, astronomy and decorating.Family/pets: Two guinea pigs called Apple and BlackberryFavourite band/ Type of music: Johnny Cash, Mumford and Sons, Lady GaGa, Faithless, Nirvana.Favourite fi lm: Tarantino anything, Kill Bill, Pulp FictionFavourite food: Turkish/MediterraneanInteresting fact: I play the bassoon and played with the London Symphony Orchestra as a teenager.Best thing about the Academy: The staff. Everyone is dedicated and friendly and has genuine care for learners in the Academy.

Mrs Bachellier

Name: ___________________________Hobbies: Triking, rallies, Gym, MusicFamily/pets: Married, 1 daughter, one Staffordshire Bull Terrier called KiraFavourite band/ Type of music: Rock, Indie, Punk, ClassicalFavourite fi lm: The MatrixFavourite food: Cake, biscuitsInteresting fact: I won an alternative Beauty Contest, dressed as George Michael in “Outside”Best thing about the Academy: The students, who never fail to surprise me.

Mr Hunter

Name: __________________________Hobbies: Skiing and growing vegFamily/pets: Rabbit and two tortoisesFavourite band/ Type of music: Indie – John Lennon - Paulo NutiniFavourite fi lm: Too many to mentionFavourite food: CurryInteresting fact: I can touch my nose with my tongueBest thing about the Academy: The people I work with!

Miss Lockstone

Name: __________________________Hobbies: DIYFamily/pets: 2 cats - Rudy and TootoosFavourite band/ Type of music: ReggaeFavourite fi lm: On The Waterfront, 300, The Harder They ComeFavourite food: Spaghetti BologneseInteresting fact: 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute, or one hour of video is uploaded to YouTube every second.Best thing about the Academy: The students

Mr Sangster

Name: __________________________Hobbies: Stand up paddle boarding/ cycling/swimming/cookingFamily/pets: One house rabbit called NapoleonFavourite band/ Type of music: Surprisingly a lot of bands that begin with B – Ben Howard/Battles/Black Keys/ Beta BandFavourite fi lm: Withnail and IFavourite food: Anything with fi sh ranging from fi sh fi ngers to salmon en croute!Interesting fact: Lived on a deserted island in Indonesia when I was 20!Best thing about the Academy: Working with such interesting characters (both staff and students)

Ms Lower

Valentine’s Day Competition

Tutor groups had the challenge of designing their own Valentine’s cards and poems. We had some excellent responses with the winning Tutor Groups being Es11 (Mrs Parker) and Es13 (Miss Skidmore).

“Give me a hundred kisses,

Then a thousand more,

Tell me that you love me,

And make my heart soar.”

essentials:

austen

Mrs Teri WhiteHead of School


Essential Fundraising Efforts

in Austen!

Extreme efforts have been undertaken by Austen students and staff to raise money for Sport Relief. Each tutor group took ownership of an event and worked hard to make it a success. The events ranged from a 20p bucket where students bought tickets to win half the amount raised, to a cinema event where students could pay to watch episodes of Friends and eat popcorn! There was a penny trail joining tutor groups to each other and a chocolate raffl e. Students worked hard to raise the money for some really good causes.

“It isn’t what we say or think that defi nes us, but what we do,” Jane Austen.

Extrem unde and st Re own wor suc from stud halfcinema event where

Farewell to Mrs Suggitt!

We will be sorry to say farewell to Mrs Suggitt at the end of this term. Mrs Suggitt is a very popular tutor to Es6 and will be going to pastures new. Mrs Suggitt, well known for the lovely cakes that she bakes for her students, will be sadly missed by all in Austen School. Mrs Suggitt, we all wish you the very best for the future, and thank you for all your hard work.

isgoMrfoshwialSuveanha

We

VIVO REWARD UPDATE

In Churchill School, we are encouraged by the numbers of our learners who are receiving Vivo reward points in recognition of their excellent attitude, achievement, behaviour, contribution and effort. We congratulate the top ten Churchill recipients of these Vivo reward points. However, we want to see more of our learners receiving Vivo rewards and this is our mission for Term 5! I will continue to reward additional Vivo points to those learners who have demonstrated exemplary conduct and consequently received no behavioural consequences. To all of our learners and their parents, the Churchill School wish you a very enjoyable Easter holiday.

Vivos

Congratulations to the following students who are the top of our Vivo chart. These students have worked hard to earn the Vivos for varying reasons, from being Student of the Week to good work in lessons.

Keeley Jackson

Es4 Year 81380 Vivos

Susan Banfi eld


EllaWatson


DannyLay


Callum Gladson


SimonPage


SkyLee-Ryan


Catherine Haas


Hannah Wigmore


Rebecca Thurston


globality:

churchill

Ms Helen SissonHead of School

Another term over, which subsequently means we are already two thirds of the way through this academic year! Many of our Year 10 and Year 11 students have sat modular examinations in Maths and we eagerly await their results. However, we must also recognise the efforts of our Year 9 learners who are equally studying hard especially those on one year GCSE programmes who will also be sitting exams this summer.

The Churchill team of tutors thoroughly enjoyed the Academic Review Day held on the 9 March and the feedback from the parents able to attend confi rms they did too. On behalf of my team, I would like to thank both parents and our learners for discussions that proved insightful and informative. We are now working hard to address concerns raised on this day as well as continuing to embed good practice that positively impacts on the academic and personal well-being of Churchill learners.


Churchill Student Council

We had a phenomenal interest in and response from our students wishing to represent Churchill School on the Student Council. Consequently, sixteen students form our Council Team and they will take turns to attend meetings. Their contributions during our fi rst Student Council meeting at the end of Term 3 proved to be very insightful. Combining with representatives from Creativity School, discussion was had around the strengths of the Academy thus far, as well as identifying areas for development.

In particular, the Academy uniform was felt to be a strength instilling pride in students, while the need to improve communication and review transport arrangements were areas to be promptly addressed. Thanks go to the students below who will be performing a vital role in the Academy – that of providing student voice for the Churchill cohort.

Tara Currie

Brandon Deamer

Firat Dogan

Rachel Gatcum

Kayleigh Gladwish

Tony Griffi ths

Rhys Hodd

Jamie-Lee Johns

Georgie Lucas

Charlotte Maddison

SanitaMaksimova

Brendon Mitchell

Ryan Norton

Ellie O’Riorden

Tamsin Shorter

Lisa Winchester


Student Voice

Our Schools’ Councils are now up and running with all the schools having had their fi rst meeting. We have now also had our fi rst Academy Council meeting. Students are very positive and have expressed how pleased they are with the uniform. Students have met with managers of Chartwells, who are in charge of our canteens. From these discussions, food has changed and students are happier with the services that are being provided. This will be an on-going dialogue to continue to improve the services for the students.

Academy Council

3 representatives from each school

Darwell School

9 Delegates

Da Vinci School

9 Delegates

Turing School

9 Delegates

Churchill School

9 Delegates

Austin School

9 Delegates

Miss Mills had the pleasure of taking two Year 9 students, Melike Yalcin and Rachel Gatcum, to the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings Old Town a couple of weeks ago. They were the fi rst visitors to view this prestigious new art gallery and were wowed by the space, light and famous artwork.

Melike and Rachel have been chosen to represent The Academy and have been given the role of Ambassadors for Hastings town. This means they will be working with other students from local primary and secondary schools to develop creative projects around the town.

Rachel commented: “.... even though it is full of artwork it feels airy and light.”

Melike and Rachel will keep you all posted of their next projects.

Jerwood gallery Ambassadors


Academies success at county fi nals

It was an exciting day when both Academies were represented at the area fi nal of the Young Consumer of the Year competition, open to all schools in Sussex. Teams completed 90 on-line questions. The teams with the winning scores represented their schools at the local fi nal. The Hastings Academy Team scored an impressive 85/90 in this round. The other fi nalists were Peacehaven Community College and Ringmer Academy. Jake Begg, The Hastings Academy Team Captain, was well supported by Leila Sharma English, Robbie Forbes and Myles Winch-McQuade. The St Leonards Academy Team Captain was Polly Riggs, supported by Aaisha Braithwaite, India Malindine and Kerri Morris.

The teams answered some challenging questions with rounds on safety and the environment, consumer law and organisations, food and health, money, credit and fi nance in the fi rst round. The fi nal also included Europe and travel, world affairs and some detailed scenarios.

The following report was written by Polly Riggs:

For the fi rst round of our Young Consumer Challenge we went to Eastbourne Town Hall. Like University Challenge for schools, we were tested on a variety of general knowledge questions, some of which we had to answer as a team and some individually. At fi rst we were very nervous, but we soon grew in confi dence and went on to win the fi rst round, narrowly beating The Hastings Academy, who put in a remarkable comeback, to be beaten by a single question.

After a short break, it was time for the fi nal round, us versus the strong Ringmer Academy team. This time, the questions were even harder! In one round we had to answer as many questions as we could in just one minute, which was particularly nerve-wracking. After the fi nal quick-fi re round, we were surprised and delighted to fi nd that we had beaten Ringmer 41 points to 27.

Our trophy was a suffi ciently impressive glass affair, as well as bags of sweets which kept us entertained on the journey home! All the competitors were awarded certifi cates and vouchers to reward their achievements, presented by Councillor and Chairman of East Sussex County Council, Chris Dowling and Sophia Mohns, Fair Trading Offi cer (FTO), Trading Standards. Next up for us is representing Sussex in the South of England fi nals, where we will be competing against Sixth Form teams as well as those from private and grammar schools.

Wish us luck!

encovoprSuMoStincoth

Wi

Edinburgh CampusEdinburgh RoadSt Leonards On SeaEast Sussex TN38 8HHT: 01424 448740F: 01424 722354

Darwell Campus Darwell CloseSt Leonards On SeaEast SussexTN38 9JPT: 01424 431691F: 01424 440060

[email protected]

Dates for your diary:

29 March Last Day of Term 4

30 March School Closed: INSET Day

2-13 April Holiday

16 April First Day of Term 5

19 April Year 8 Parents’ Evening

27 April Year 2 Multi-skills with

Year 10 Sports Leaders

2 May Year 2 Multi-skills with


8 May Kielder Challenge

9 May Olympic Stadium Trip

16 May Tag Rugby Festival with


23 May Sierra Leone Football Festival

1 June Last Day of Term 5

4-8 June Holiday

11 June First Day of Term 6

Early notifi cation:

Summer Term will end on

Wednesday 18 July

Darwell Campus:

Smoking Cessation

Sessions

Multi-Agency Centre

Every Monday at 2.30pm

A Multi-agency Drop-in

Every Monday (Term time only)in the Multi-Agency Centre

3.00pm - 4.00pm for students in Years 9-11

General drop-in during Breaktimes on Tuesdays & Thursdays

To include: School Nurse, Under 19s Substance Misuse Worker, Youth Development Worker and Youth Advisory/Sexual Health Worker

Just pop in for advice on any aspect of your life that you are worried about.

School Nurse: Audrey Rogers: 07887 562457

EDINBURGH CAMPUS Drop-ins

Drop-in during Breaktimeson Tuesdays & Fridays

School Nurse: Dena Francis: 07887 563294

Sierra Leone Mufti Day

At the end of last term many learners came to school dressed in their pyjamas! Others arrived in green, white and blue, the colours of the Sierra Leonean fl ag. We managed to raise £930 which will be used for a project in our

twin school Huntingdon and hopefully help four learners visit next year.

More fund-raising coming soon.

Thank you to everyone for your support.

Mrs Spearman

the st leonards academy newsletter march 2012

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