Civitas Magazine - Summer 2018

The Civitas ARK ACADEMY’S OFFICIAL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2018

e n O e r A e W r Togethe orm from Nursery to Sixth F

Dear Parents and Students, I am absolutely proud of the range of opportunities we offer our students at Ark Academy. Our Ark Ambitions programme reflects the total all through experience of an Ark Academy student – yes from nursery through to sixth form. We want all our students, no matter what age, to think about their futures, be ambitious and aware of the really wide ranging opportunities that they can aspire to.

As always the end of the summer term is a time for moving on. Our Year 6, Year 11 and Year 13 students are all in transition. We all await their results with bated breath, but also with high hopes.

We are extremely proud, of course, of the offers our second crop of Year 13 leavers have received from universities around the country and high level apprenticeship offers from top 100 companies.

We know some of our staff are also moving on to different opportunities and we wish them all well. I am particularly proud to announce that Aishling Ryan Vice Principal and founding member of staff will be moving onto headship.

She is to become the founding Principal of Ark Pioneer a new Ark School in Barnet. We know she will establish another fantastic school.

sets out to support our students from reception through to Year 13 with the development of the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed along their chosen career pathway. Here’s what we got up to.

Yr10 Vodaphone Insight Day The insight day offered an exciting and engaging opportunity to learn more about one of the world’s leaders in technology.

The students were able to learn more about the progressive nature of this industry, including the future of space travel, how robots will aid everyday activities within large businesses and even the concept of Wi-Fi on the moon! The workshop allowed for lots of discussion and creativity, through sessions on designing an app, writing a CV and how to search for future careers on Vodafone’s job finder aimed specifically at the younger generation. The day ended in a tour of the building and an introduction to the house robot Pepper, who offered no end of entertainment to both the students and staff! Overall, the students came away from the day feeling inspired and ready to work towards an exciting future within our technological society, all whilst representing the Academy to the highest standard!

I would like to end by thanking all the staff and I am sure you will agree, for their dedication to the students and the support of their talents and ambitions. Also, of course, to you their parents/carers for supporting your child’s education and development over the past year.

Have a lovely summer break.

Delia Smith OBE Principal of Ark Academy

All girls in years 7, 8, 9 and 10 had the privilege to hear from women who have made successful careers for themselves in the construction industry. Construction is a sector that is hugely underrepresented by the female population, yet has countless opportunities for women and our girls heard from two quantity surveyors, a project manager and a design lead from SISK construction; one of the largest construction firms currently working on the nearby Wembley Park development.

All of the speakers highlighted the key

to following careers in areas of interest and passion, and not to be put off by working in areas often stereotyped as jobs suited to men. Students were amazed at the earning potential within the construction industry along with the various routes that take you there; from traditional university routes through to apprenticeships…it was fantastic to see a number of girls remaining behind to talk with the speakers at the end of the assembly…asking them further questions and really investigating their own potential pathways.

Mr O’Carroll

G

C

Why is Work Experience Important?

Media Moguls for the Day

1. Young people are more likely to be successful in their job hunt if they have done some good work experience. Fact!

A selected group of Year 10 students were lucky enough to attend a school trip to ‘GroupM’ which is the largest advertising media company in the world. It is headquartered in New York City with over 32,000 employees and 400 offices in over 100 countries. Our students visited the Holborn office and it’s safe to say they were suitably impressed!

2. If you haven’t got a clue what career you want to do, work experience is a perfect way to sample career options out there.

It’s a way of exploring different jobs.

As young teenagers in modern day society the students could relate to and were passionate about many of the companies that used GroupM services. These include Nike, Facebook, Rolex, Instagram and YouTube. This helped spark their interest and motivation from the get-go. To kick off the day they were put into sub-groups where they co-constructed a small presentation to deliver on the role of a Media company. Aanchal Patel was the star of the show here and delivered a pitch-perfect speech on the structure of modern day media and advertising. She received a huge applause from the applause from the audience and deservedly so.

3. It’s the best way to get a real sense of a chosen industry. You’ll get to speak to employees and ask them questions. You won’t know what it’s like until you get closer to the action

Next on the agenda was a group task where the students were required to design their own LinkedIn profile to make themselves as employable as possible within the Media world. GroupM staff were particularly impressed with Paris Lewis’ contribution who ticked all the boxes and presented her LinkedIn profile to the company with a sense of beaming confidence and pride. One employee asked if she was available to start next week! It was then time for all the students to be interviewed one-to-one by GroupM company staff Apprentice Style! It is fair to say there was a lot of initial nervousness followed by some challenging questions which pushed many out of their comfort zones. That said, they ultimately completed the process with flying colours and hugely benefitted from such a unique and valuable experience. The students all commented on how useful this was in relation to future careers and 6th form interviews which are not too far off in the distant future.

4. Doing work experience shows passion and interest. Evidence that you have done work experience shows future sixth forms/colleges/ universities and employers that you are motivated to get into a chosen career and that you’ve done your homework

To end what was truly an inspirational day the students were given an office tour around the building. Initial assumptions about a typical office environment were well and truly quashed when we were exposed to company staff showing that despite working hard they also knew how to have a good time too.

All in all this was a superb trip that enabled the students to gain a deeper understanding about the working world and in particular, media and advertising. The students were excellent throughout and thoroughly enjoyed their day out. The organisers thanked them for being such wonderful guests and wished them the best for the future. Keep your eyes peeled for the next Mark Zuckerberg!

Mr Foster

Girls in Construct ion

5. Work experience gently introduces you to the world of work. You get to learn the dos and don’ts, get work place savvy and learn to navigate your way through the jungle of office politics. Vitally, it’ll give you an idea of the skills you might need to thrive in the workplace.

6. It’ll help you identify your own skills and perhaps even highlight the areas that you might want to work on.

7. You might wow them so much that you’ll manage to wrangle yourself a job!

[A number of our current Year 11’s have been offered summer jobs based on their work experience]

ARK AMBITIONS PAGE 3

This year saw the 2nd year of Primary Pathways and with that the launch of our Ark Ambitions programme. We have had university visits, Careers day and a now permanent spot on our knowledge mats, which means that each topic will have a link to related careers in order to give our children an awareness of the huge range of possibilities for their future.

‘Meeting different people from different jobs helped me think that you can’t always be what you want so you have to have choices’.

Daniella-Debra Year 3

‘Career day helped me learn about how other people got to be in their jobs’.

Small Kids, Big Dreams One of the highlights of the programme is having a range of volunteers speaking to our children about their varying careers and the different paths they have taken to get there. We have had approx. 20 visitors this year with many of them attending our Ark Ambitions careers day when the children come to school dressed as their future career. We have to say a huge thank you to these parents and volunteers for their invaluable time. Our visitors have included; The Police, Fire service, Armed forces, Bank of England, Bank of America, Human resources, Gas engineer, Mechanic, Catering manager, Film set designer, Quantity surveyor, Project manager, Logistics manager, Business analyst, Sales and Marketing, Engineer and a Cambridge PHd student.

Mrs O’Carroll

Isma-Daisy Year 5

.

‘I liked meeting the Police ld cou we w ho We learnt become a police officer when we grow up’.

Eliza.W Year 1

A taste of Uni Life This term Year 6 spent an exciting day at Goldsmiths University experiencing a university taster day including; a student meet and greet, tour of the campus, a mini lecture and skills workshop.

The Goldsmiths Staff commented that our Year 6 pupils were more like secondary pupils due to the knowledge they had of higher education and the insightful questions that they asked.

‘We had the privilege to visit Goldsmiths University as part of our Ark Ambitions programme. We decided to visit to experience how university life will be.

Personally, I enjoyed Goldsmiths very much since the students were warm and welcoming and willing to answer our questions. After the day I have definitely considered Goldsmiths as a future university to apply for because I want to be an artist and that is what they focus on. It was a truly grand experience I will never forget.’ Jumanah, Year 6

Imperial College Festival We were very lucky to be invited to bring a group of Year 5 & 6 pupils to Imperial College to take part in the Imperial schools festival. The pupils were given the most wonderful opportunity to meet several teams who shared their exciting research in many fields with hands on science and engineering.

‘As part of the Ark Ambitions programme, a few selected children -including myself were given the privilege to visit Imperial College. A truly wondrous experience!

When we arrived, lights were strung, stalls were set up and everyone was having a good time. My favourite part was the research on Asthma as it is a sickness many people including my sister have to go through. This was also my favourite because I would like to be a

doctor one day and find a cure to help my sister.

From this extraordinary experience I have learnt a lot about my dream job, about viruses, mechanical body parts and composite materials. I know I will have to work hard to achieve my goal, but I’m sure I can do it!’

Asmagh, ARK AMBITIONS Year 6.

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Dear Primary school children & parents, It feels like the busiest Spring and Summer term that we have ever had here at Ark Academy! Children have been working incredibly hard in class, as always, and have also been taking their learning outside. The list of trips is too long but I know that year 4 had great fun on their trip to the Thames Explorer, the Nursery children have been to a wonderful urban farm, year 6 have been taking in the delights of the West End with a trip to see “Wicked”, year 3 have been to Fryent Country Park, year 1 have been to the Natural History Museum and much, much more. Mrs Harrison’s ‘Outdoor Learning Club’ have been out-and-about every week and we have had a great range of outside visitors speaking to the children. Learning is alive and not just confimed to the classroom at Ark Academy!

We have also had a very successful Art Week, led by Ms Burke. Children spent the whole week drawing, designing and working with visiting artists to not only have a fun and valuable week but to set up our very own Art Gallery. Parents visited and were also entertained by our wonderful choir at what was a really fun event. STEM week was equally good. The work of Mrs Harrison & Ms Ryan enabled us all to be scientists for the week. I have never seen so much slime, or indeed the strange material known as oobleck!

Finally, we had another very successful ‘Ambitions’ day as part of our “Ark Ambitions” programme. All of the children came dressed as what they want to be when they are older. We have so many budding scientists, designers, paleontologists, lawyers, doctors, nurses and much more!

Thank-you to Mrs O’Carroll and all those that gave up their time to talk to us – and inspire us – about the huge variety of opportunities that children can learn about even in primary school.

Now, at the end of the year, our thoughts turn to transitions and next steps. We know that our year 6 pupils have been very well prepared for the next step into the secondary school and we are proud that, as an all-through academy, we can watch our pupils become young adults in the next stage of their education. We wish them all the very best and we will be staying in touch!

Have a good summer holiday and thank-you to everyone that has helped us this year.

Peter Watkins Primary Headteacher

ARK’S GOT TALENT Ark Primary hosted ‘Ark’s Got Talent’.

It was a friendly, house competition which was a spin-off of the television show ‘Britain’s Got Talent.’ It was a time where our pupils were are able to showcase their strengths and talents both inside and outside of school. Due to the extremely high level of talent, two rounds of auditions had to take place. In the final we had an array of talent from dancing, gymnastics, singing, rapping, magician, piano playing to scientist. Parents of finalists joined us for the afternoon along with our three judges: Mr Watkins (Primary Head teacher), Mrs Barrett (Governor) and Miss Gatford (Head of Drama in Secondary). The runner up was Siripa from Year 6 who did a dance act and the winner was Faybian who re-enacted Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean, even with the glove and hat! It was a throughly fun afternoon and left a buzzing atmosphere throughout the school.

Ms Oscroft

Art Showcase

Ark Primary’s been really creative this year! For our first ever Art Week, we have been exploring different artists and techniques all themed around an amazing children’s story called ‘The Dot’. During the week, they made personal projects, met different creative artists who have made a career from their talents and showcased their work to parents in our first ever Art Gallery!

Ms Burke

The ‘Ask the Speaker’ session with Mr Speaker today was a unique opportunity, which not a lot of people would have. It allowed us to see how democracy works and experience a little bit of how the inside of Parliament functions.

We were able to ask our own questions and the responses given by The Rt Hon John Bercow MP were insightful. We learnt a lot about his political views and his job as speaker of The House of Commons. A particularly interesting question was asked by one of my peers, she asked why the members of Parliament needed someone to chair their debates; his answer explained that the debates often become heated and they need an impartial person to facilitate discussions. He went on to tell us that the most heated arguments were around same sex marriage, where 65 politicians spoke, and whether the UK should send military personnel to intervene in Syria. It was a privilege to have the chance to meet someone as influential as Mr Speaker and I’m sure all of us in year six will remember it for years to come.

Simeon , Y6

SPEAKER IN THE HOUSE

Real moon rock!!

The children in Ark Primary took part in another successful STEM week during the Summer term. The pupils had the opportunity to build and design, make and create, explore and investigate following the year group themes of water, dinosaurs, food, the great outdoors, potions and medicines, mini engineers and space. Some of the highlights included building dens, making slime, digging for fossils and designing rockets. The Year 4 children also had the opportunity to visit the science labs which was a fabulous experience. The highlight of the week was being able to hold real samples of the moon and meteorites. What a fantastic once in a lifetime opportunity!

STEM WEEK

Mrs Harrison

PRIMARY PAGE 7

Goodbye Year 11 Time to say goodbye…

The leavers’ assembly took us all down memory lane, starting with a photo montage of their 5 years at Ark Academy. Daniel, 11 Goodall, beautifully read ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost. Three Year 11s (Rares, 11 Goodall, Nikhil,11 Noddack and Beheshta, 11 Hodgkin) treated us to their favourite memories of Ark Academy and reflections on their time here. These speeches were poignant, funny and passionate, an accurate reflection of the year group. Beheshta put it perfectly:

“You are all stars of the future”.

Special awards were given to students who had achieved 100% attendance and 0 demerits throughout their entire career in Ark Academy. As well as this, an astonishing 27 well-deserved students were awarded the highest accolade of Ark Academy, the Civitas Badge. On a less serious note, we also had a round of ‘Alternative Awards’ which the students had voted for themselves, deciding amongst other categories, which peer was ‘Most likely to become a millionaire’ and who was ‘Most likely to be Prime Minister’. The assembly ended with a fun music video

This was a night that had been long awaited by students and staff alike – Year 11 Prom! Students had had a gruelling time of GCSE exams and were ready to let their hair down and have fun.

The theme was ‘Hollywood’ and the students did not disappoint. All the attendees looked fabulous in their smart suits and glittering gowns.

Students entered in style on a red carpet and this was only the start of a night of fun; with music

by DJ Strikez, a light up dance floor, and even a chocolate fountain! Everyone had a fantastic time, dancing the night away and celebrating the end of their GCSE exams. Congratulations to the Prom Committee who did an incredible job at organising the event.

Miss Pitkin

the teachers had put together of them lip synching to ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’.

It was very sad to say goodbye to Year 11 but I know that they will continue onto even more great things and we wish them all the very best of luck in the future.

Farewell Year 13 In June we waved goodbye to our current Y13s with a special leaver’s assembly and – of course – the official Y13 Prom. At the assembly they heard advice from many of the teachers about items to ‘pack in their bags’ as they take their next steps in life, and watched the obligatory montage as seven years was condensed into three minutes.

It was certainly an emotional time. The prom committee had made their ambition clear from the very start, opting for a sophisticated riverside venue in Greenwich. Their daring attitude - and the persistence their guests showed travelling all the way across London – was rewarded with a glorious summer evening looking out over the water (very good for Instagram, apparently). We will next see them at the inaugural Ark Alumni Forum in early September, but until then we wish them a welldeserved break and a positive results day.

Mr Ding

LEAVERS PAGE 9

Dear Sixth Form students and parents, It still takes me by surprise to know that our, Year 13, are our most senior year group and even more so to know that they have now left us for pastures greener! In my mind’s eye you are little Year 7, full of fun, excitement and life.

Not that as Year 13 you are not full of these same things but you certainly aren’t little and maybe now have a few other traits thrown in too!

It has been a privilege to see you develop over the course of the last 2 years into mature, rounded and delightful young women and men.

My advice to you as you get ready to leave is simple.

Ladies – never allow anyone to treat you as a second best, in work, in pay, in life, in love. Never allow yourself to even start to think you might not be worth the same as the person sat next to you.

Gentlemen – allow yourself time to be you. Don’t compare yourself to everyone else, or measure your achievements against theirs. Set your own bar, and don’t forget to laugh at your mistakes.

The world is strange and exciting place.

Go make it stranger and infinitely more exciting always remembering your Civitas roots.

Our new Year 13 have certainly stepped up to the mark in the past half term since the AS exams finished. Having read some of the initial first draft personal statements made by the students I am excited for next year and what the UCAS and apprenticeship process will bring. I have been more than impressed with the level of participation and leadership shown by the new Year 13. A massive well done and congratulations to them!

Take the chance to get some sun on your bones. Relax and refresh yourself for your final year at Ark Academy.

Reconnect with your friends, pick up a book and read for the simple pleasure and joy of reading. I look forward to seeing you all in person on the 16th August to celebrate your results with you.

I wish you all a long, lazy and peaceful summer holiday.

Tracey Keane Director of Ark Academy Sixth Form

COMPUTER WHIZZES WIN £500 In May, a group of Y12 students Maher, Aryan, Nikul, Aaron and Dhruv - were awarded a £500 grant from the Mark Evison Foundation to work together to build their own computer game. The foundation – created in memory of a soldier killed in action – gives grants to young people to support them to undertake an activity or project they have never

tried before. The boys were awarded the money following an intensive application process and a nervewracking team presentation in front of judges from the foundation. They showed great initiative, team-work and persistence. Production of the video game is underway – we look forward to seeing the finished product!

Ms Lewis-Smith

Ministry of Defence Outreach Programme Across the duration of this year our year 12 students have had the opportunity to partake in a Ministry of Defence outreach programme. This unique porgramme was created last year by Ms Rogers and a high ranking civil servant within the Ministry of Defence with the aim of increasing diversity within the MOD and other governmental organisations, in particular defence intelligence. The project involved partaking in a series of expertly designed workshops which mirror the MOD graduate scheme and the everyday work of an intelligence analyst. The programme was wrapped up with a visit down to the main building in Westminster where pupils took part in a crisis scenario activity using the skills they had gained across the course.

The year 12s were then treated to lunch in Henry VIIIs wine cellar whilst having the opportunity to meet and network with a number of senior MOD officials (including Mr Haslam!).

Ms Rogers

BUMPER CROP OF BURSARIES FOR SIXTH FORM STUDENTS Following a rigorous application and interview process, twelve of our outgoing Y13 students were awarded Ark Schools bursaries to support them whilst at university. The bursaries range in value from £3,000 to £34,000, but in total our

students have been awarded £145,000 which is 24% of the total ‘pot’ for the network. They’ve done themselves, their families and the whole sixth form team proud and we wish them all the best for their university experience.

Ms Lewis-Smith

Alex

£5.4k + free

Minali

Krupal

£3k

central London accommodation for 3 years, worth £29k Urbanest Bursary

£22.5k

Reuben Oxbridge Bursary

Marshal Wace 1 year Bursary

Darshan

Aliyah

Jack

£9k

£9k

£9k

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Fatima Ali

Izzy

Kapil

£9k

£9k

£9k

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Pruthvi

£9k

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Fatima Ahmed Sultan

Maryline

£9k

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Marshal Wace 3 year Bursary

Scientist in the Making

£9k

Oscar is a budding Year 1 scientist who has teamed up with some Sixth Form experts, Zainab and Anoushka, to spend time in the lab.

With the support of Mr Moore from the science department the girls have introduced Oscar to the wonders of aqueous substances on Bunsen flames and metal ribbons dissolving in acid.

Oscar has been completing a log book with the girls and proudly declares himself a ‘mad scientist’. Mr Moore said, ‘it’s been a pleasure to support the next generation of Ark scientists’.

Ms Lewis-Smith

ARK’S FIRST MEDIC This year, our deputy head girl Fatima Ahmed Sultan was accepted onto Kings’ College’s ‘Extended Medical Degree Programme’ making her Ark academy’s first ever medic! In an interview with Ark schools Fatima said, “My love of science and medicine really started in year 7 at Ark Academy. I had a great science teacher and they instilled in me a love of the subject. I wound up buying all of the “Horrible Science” books. I had ALL of them. I read the “Horrible Histories” books too, but for some reason the science ones just stayed with me. I’m really grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had at Ark. I was in the school’s second-ever cohort and we’ve just had an amazing education here. I’ll be the first person in my family to go to university. In my culture, girls generally don’t go to uni. A lot of them stay home and cook. But that’s not for me – I’m “that” feminist in our school – the one that’s almost like the feminist police. It’s important to me to reject gender stereotypes. I can’t wait to study at Kings. My parents are so proud. ” Ms Lewis-Smith

MENTORS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE This year, sixth formers have shown Civitas by acting as mentors to lower school students. In total, 60 sixth formers took on the role – meeting weekly with Y11 and Y10 mentees to set action steps, complete revision and give advice on getting ahead.

Y12 mentor David Muja said “the hardest thing was trying to set a good example – leading the way for the Y11s so that they could see success was possible. The best thing was seeing that the small revision tasks I set like past papers, or bits of advice I gave helped my mentee to get ahead.

It showed me that for him and for myself the small changes are the ones that make the biggest difference”.

Ms Lewis-Smith

RM FOTS E AR THTH SIX PAGE 11

Let’s Debate Spirits were high as five of our Year 9 students went up against a host of other schools in the Ark Senior Debate Championship. Ark Academy started off strong sending Hamza, Hadeal and Kyla to go head to head against Bolingbroke, ending in the Ark team securing a win. In the second debate, Adriana and Ismail tried their hand at debating to give their team the second win.

The students had prepared for the motions of the first two debates (‘This house would ban music that glorifies violence’ to ‘this house would legalise all performanceenhancing drugs’) but were feeling nervous about the impromptu debate that came third. Thankfully,

the nerves served to provide some useful adrenaline; the students recalled Ms Whitehead’s coaching tips and came up with some brilliant ideas to achieve four straight wins and a place in the final. Burlington Danes put up a good fight raising some thought-provoking points of information, however, Ark Academy landed the victory. To add to the success, two debaters (Hamza and Hadeal) were rewarded individual trophies for best speaker and best speech. The team were ecstatic with their win and were proud to bring the trophy back for Ark Academy.

Hamza (Year 9)

First Give

May saw the culmination of a whole terms work for our Year 8 pupils.

Since February they have all been involved in the highly inspirational First Give programme; a programme designed to harness the pupil’s tenacity and talents to improve our local community. Each form group spent time meticulously researching local charities before deciding on which one they wanted to support. From this point on it was all about social action; with pupil’s organising a range of activities to raise both awareness and much needed funds for their chosen charities. We had a flurry of bake sales along with novel ideas such as football tournaments and pizza stalls. All in all the pupils did a great job and all of the charities supported will receive some money.

The First Give programme ends with a grand final where a team of pupils from each form present their social action to a panel of five judges; all hoping to win the grand prize of £1000 for their chosen charity. The final was hotly contested with all those present unsure about who would walk away with the prize. In the end the prize went to the team from 8 Nyongo and their chosen charity; Brent Foodbank.

Amy Clark, the First Give coordinator commented that this was the best final to date with all groups putting on an excellent presentation.

Congratulations to all involved!

Mr O’Carroll

A Proud Moment for Rares It is a great honour to announce you that Rares has been awarded an Order of Merit from the Romanian Ministry for Romanians Abroad and the Embassy of Romania in the United Kingdom in recognition to his charitable volunteering work and his achievements. The gala ceremony took place in London, celebrating the centenary of the Grand Union of Romania, marked the recognition of excellence in the Romanian communities abroad. Community organisations, volunteers, artists, entrepreneurs, and professionals that have contributed to a better inclusion and representation of the Romanians in the UK have been awarded and Rares has been one of the selected representatives for his excellent work in the service of our communities. In his acceptance speech, he spoke passionately about his work at Ark and encouraged everyone in the room to support the NLC campaigns.

The Diploma (in Romanian) reads: The Ministry for Romanians Abroad and The Embassy of Romania in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland presents the Merit Award to Mr. Rares Maglan for his involvement in promoting and preserving of the Romanian identity & culture in Great Britain. Signed by: HE Mrs. Natalia-Elena Intotero, the Minister for Romanians Abroad & by HE Mr. Dan Mihalache, The Ambassador of Romania in London.

Rares has also been featured in the Brent Museums and Archives exhibition ‘Romanians in Brent: Home Away from Home’ this spring.

Ms Maglan

FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION GRANTS PAY RISE AFTER STUDENT CAMPAIGN The Football Association will give a pay rise to its lowest-earning workers after a campaign by Ark Academy students, although thousands of temporary workers employed by contractors at Wembley Stadium will miss out.

Core FA workers including ground staff, tour guides, event planners and agency workers will earn the Living Wage from 2019, FA executive James MacDougall told students at a meeting at FA headquarters in May. MacDougall said hundreds of workers will benefit from the move, but he declined to give an exact figure. The FA employs around 900 people at several sites including Wembley Stadium.

MacDougall added the FA board decided

against pay rises for around 3,000 temporary staff such as cleaners, security guards and caterers during football matches and concerts.

Temporary workers are often employed by contractors paying the minimum wage of £7.50 an hour. The London Living Wage is £10.20, a figure indexed to the cost of living.

But in a new procurement process, the FA will ask potential contractors whether they propose to pay the Living Wage and will consider this when awarding contracts.

Ark Academy Year 10 student Hamza Ahmadi urged MacDougall to ensure that the FA lives up to its slogan “For All” by paying more to its workers in Brent.

The FA is considering selling Wembley Stadium. MacDougall said the FA may reconsider wages for temporary staff next year if the sale does not go ahead.

Mr Wanklyn

Young Activists Learn How to Stand Up and Be Heard Selected Ark Academy students take a weekly class in civic activism with a trainer from community organisers Citizens UK. The programme shows students how to identify problems that they can solve. It drills them in taking action such as planning a petition or public protest in a way that secures attention and press coverage.

In December 2017 two dozen students joined a march on the Home Office in protest at the £2,000 fees levied on adults who apply for citizenship. And in March they lobbied Leader of Brent Council Muhammed Butt on the low take-up of the Living Wage among Brent employers.

The students learn that they can influence public affairs and this experience will serve them well when faced with problems in years ahead.

E STUDENTS HAV SAY IR TS THEEAR TH

PAGE 13

SOLVING MATHS MYSTERIES

The Ark Academy Maths Research Project has been running since the school opened in 2010. The projects are like mini fertile questions, structured and scaffolded so that students can complete them independently.

The projects include elements of internet ‘research’, investigation of mathematical pattern, the challenge of attempting to derive formulae, as well as, the opportunity for students to demonstrate their love of maths through creative mediums (e.g. through the creation of a Pi inspired poem or a

Pythagoras rap).

This year, Year7 investigated What is the meaning of Pi?, Year 8 Why is Pythagoras famous?, Year 9 How circles help us to solve geometry problems? and Year 10 What can you tell from someone’s height? And the projects produced were AMAZING, particularly from year 7 and 9 students who produced some of the best projects in Ark Academy history!

The maths department were so impressed with what students produced that they

put on the first EVER Ark Academy Maths Research Project Gallery where staff and students came to view the winning projects.

These students received a gold merit and the opportunity to join the maths department for a special reward trip to Nando’s.

All in all it was a fabulous celebration of our Maths Specialism and we cannot wait to see what Ark Academy students produce next year!

Ms Ozeke

PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT This term the students focussed on their understanding of probability. Year 8 in particular were answering the fertile question “What are the chances of winning 21?”.

The unit taught us how casinos use maths to make sure the house always wins and you eventually make a loss.

The marvellous maths department brought this to life by turning the dining hall into a casino. Students were allocated the same amount of money and were challenged to beat the dealer. As expected (by the teachers, not necessarily the children) the students ended up making a loss of £4.50.

Socrates, the winning house managed to keep hold of £5.50 and was awarded 500 points. The loosing team thought they had done well but alas they made a loss of £12.

The moral of the story, if you gamble eventually you will make a loss, the odds are never in your favour.

Ms Russell

ISLE OF WIGHT Year 8 and 9 had an incredible time at the Isle of Wight residential! We reached for the skies on the 3G swing, being launched through the air at exhilarating speeds. We caught the waves at the beach with body boarding – getting used to the water was pretty difficult!

To warm up again, our group battled it out in an intense rounders tournament.

We even got to take part in the infamous Leap of Faith! The food was delicious and our rooms were comfortable – overall, the trip was so much fun!

Cyrus (Year 8)

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD Year 10 ventured out into the Chilterns to complete their assessed expedition, for their Duke of Edinburgh award. The students had to navigate their way across the countryside, demonstrating their map reading knowledge including distance and speed calculations, then set up camp. They were required to be completely self-sufficient, which they managed to do throughout.

I was very impressed with each group, as they all supported and encouraged one another.

Needless to say, all students completed their expedition successfully and they should be very proud of what they have achieved. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with this group of students.

I would like to thank all of the staff who have helped with the Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and assessing the students for the different sections of the award, without you this wouldn’t be possible! If anyone would be interested in helping out next year, please let me know.

Ms Sandeman

TRIPS & NS ARIOTS PEETIT COMTH PAGE 15

Bowling Action

SKY SKY

The season comes to a close for the year 7 & 8 Cricket team. The team mainly made up of year 7s have played year 8 opposition all year and although it has been tough they have shown great persistence to keep trying their best, never moaning and always sticking together through each match. The boys have trained twice a week for 2 months and have really progressed whilst becoming great friends through the

team. The team played 5 matches, lost 4 & won 1. They also managed to finish 2nd in a tournament just before half term.

Special thanks to Mr Asif who has coached and supported the boys at all training sessions and matches. Also, thank you to Mr Nugent & Mr Cheetham for coaching the boys at various training sessions this term.

Mr Parkinson

SPORTS NEWS

The Year10 GCSE PE pupils were delighted to go on an exclusive trip to the world famous Sky Sports Studios in London. On their afternoon at the studios the Ark Academy pupils were given the breaking news that Arsene Wenger had just left Arsenal FC. With this sports news hot off the press, they were then given the task of reporting about this live from the studios! The pupils were also responsible for writing the news report and using the latest technology to film and make the reports as exciting as possible. I was very impressed with the work the pupils produced. What an amazing job our pupils did. They were highly professional and enjoyed every minute of the day. I am convinced we have some future sports reporters on our GCSE PE course!

Miss Gallagher

Ark Academy was delighted to take part in Women’s Football Week 2018. Our dedicated girl’s football team train every week and their hard work finally paid off when they attended the tournament hosted in partnership with Watford FC Trust and Hertfordshire University.

Women’s Football Week

The girls made the journey from Wembley to Hertfordshire University and were raring to go! The level of competition was high but our girls were ready to work their socks off and showcase their talent. This team of Ark girls have a particularly strong bond and they work extremely hard for one another.

The real excitement came in the final game of the day! Ark Academy conceded a goal early in the game and with only minutes to go the girls thought hard to come back and get an equaliser. The final whistle then went and they faced the opposition in a penalty shootout! Both teams put on a great display but unfortunately Ark Academy lost on penalties.

Brent Athletics is always a popular event for Ark Academy students which meant we took a strong cohort of athletes from each year group to compete against the rest of the borough. On the first day, the Year 7 students gave an outstanding performance with medals going to Jayden for coming 2nd in the Shotput and Demario for 2nd in the 100m. Eduarda and Kevin both finished third in their events. The final and arguably most popular event, 4x100m relay was a closely fought race for the Year 7 Boys Team

who narrowly missed out and finished second. Overall and given it was their first time at the Brent Athletic Championships, all year 7 students gave an impressive performance and representing Ark Academy with excellent participation.

Year 8 continued to add to the medal tally with Noelani and Faridah both picking up medals for their events. The success continued onto the track events with Jonathon running in the highly competitive 200m race and Shami competing in the

1500m. Both students ran an incredible race and recorded times which qualified them for the Middlesex meet – best of luck to both! For the Year 10 Girls, Faith was 2nd in the Shot Put event and the year 8 and 10 girls finished 3rd overall against the other schools at the Brent Athletic Championships.

Overall, every student represented Ark Academy with excellence, showing a real desire to win and push themselves within their chosen event. Well done!

Miss Kelman

BRENT ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

The girls did themselves very proud at the tournament and still left with a smile.

Our girls later featured on England Ladies [lionesses] twitter for the second time! The future is bright for our football girls and I am hoping to have some future lionesses in her current squad.

Thank you to Watford FC Trust for hosting this wonderful event and allowing us to be part of it.

Well done to all girls involved on the day. The talent of young girls in football was extremely high.

Miss Gallagher

STAFF NETBALL Ark Staff Netball Team took part in a highly competitive netball tournament hosted by London Netball Academy. Our staff team did not disappoint as they got through to the semi-final with pure

determination. Special mention to Mr Robinson who was an unbeatable Goalkeeper and Miss Rees/Miss Searle who were on fire in the final court scoring on numerous occasions. At the final whistle Ark had won another game and had now secured a place in the final.

It took extreme persistence from all of the Ark Academy players and a special mention to Mr Edmondson and Miss Gatford who worked tirelessly in the centre of the court without any breaks! We won the ball and made a final attack scoring the winner, resulting in Ark Academy being crowned Champions of the staff netball tournament 2018!

Thank you to all staff that attended. The next time you walk past the trophy cabinet take a look at the staff netball trophy on display!

TS ARTS EOR SP

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Miss Gallagher

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We all had a great time at ARK Swift with 35 of our students, who took part in a wide range of workshops and performances, at the very first ARK Music Festival. It was wonderful to see so many of our students performing, especially those who were participating in something like this for the first time, amongst our more familiar musicians.

Please congratulate them if you see them for their positivity, and their willingness to step outside their comfort zone.

Miss Sharp

Ten of our finest Ark Academy musicians were fortunate enough to undertake a weekend tour in the beautiful Belgian chocolate box city of Bruges. On arrival students went straight in to rehearsals, and the first evening brought a selection of student and teacher performances at our Arks Got Talent show. Jonathan and Meesha performed their interpretation of Bruno Mars’ Just the Way You Are to an impressed crowd!

ARK Music on Tour

After another morning of rehearsals in the sweltering heat on the Sunday, Spark choir headed off to the beautiful beach town of Ostend to perform in the town square, whilst Fusion carried on perfecting their repertoire, and having a leisurely stroll around Bruges equipped with some waffles and crepes to keep them energised!

Niewpoort was the chosen venue for the main evening show, where the students had the opportunity to perform on a stage overlooking a very dramatic beach. Our very own Hadeal Abdelatti took to the stage to sing a solo section of “Until We Meet Again” and Stacey Melua Neto performed a solo during ’Nevertheless She Persisted’. The students then had a well deserved run down the beach after, with the backdrop of a dramatic sunset.

The next day was one of relaxation for the hard working performers; Spark undertook a canal cruise round the city, whilst Fusion had yet more waffles and crepes, and one final look round Bruges. All students then reunited for a delicious trip around a local chocolate factory. Laden with sweet stuff, we all made our way home with happy memories of our musical performance in Belgium!

Miss Sharp

The Legendary House Drama This year’s theme for House Drama was Myths and Legends; these could be old or new. I was blown away by the talent of our students not just in terms of acting but script writing, set making and lighting too. Overall winners for both the monologue and group entry Socrates house were outstanding from the level of storytelling in their own version of the legend Robin Hood. The set was extremely detailed and really brought the locations in their story to life on stage. Stacey’s poetry within the group performance was sincere in portraying an important message to all. Plato did a great job at portraying the Greek myth Orpheus and the Underworld the costumes where superb and really brought the characters to life on stage.

Curie woke the audience up with their comic add on’s and use of popular music, they really were a crowd pleaser. Newton went against the grain to perform a pantomime version of the Hunchback of Notre dame, the festival feel they created was excellent with all props and set designed and created by the students themselves. Well done all involved it was truly a fantastic house competition.

Miss Gatford

TS ORTS THESPAR PAGE 19

Snap Happy Last term saw the launch of our very first photography competition where Yr9 students were asked to respond to the title

‘Portraiture’. If I’m honest I was expecting endless peace sign selfies, but what I found in my inbox was something entirely different. A picture tells a thousand words as they say so I will let these entries speak for themselves. The winning photograph

Winner

is by Sanika Khadpe and is a portrait of her friend in India. Big up to Ms Macivor for going the extra mile with her form and really inspiring them to take pictures.

Ms Mchaffie