Amazing GCSE Results
4-5
Primary Pages
6-7
6th Form Pages
11-15
Charity Week
18-19
Sports
20-21
Good Deed Feed
23-24
Delia Smith
Here we go! The Autumn edition of ‘The Civitas’ is here - we’ve been extremely busy writing all the stories in time to be published! (Left to Right) Iman Ahmedi , Chandani Punjawani, Kaftan Mohamed, Cameron Russell, Minali Alwis, Isabella Addo, Allain Del Rosario
Ark Academy celebrates our Birthdays!
Ark Academy has celebrated our three birthdays in style! Our veterans, Primary, were 7 years old, Secondary 5 years old and our fledgling Sixth Form fresh out of the gates. We couldn’t be happier to say Happy Birthday to us and many more!
Shania in Year 8 won the First Give Award for her tremendous work with The Passage, a charity that provides aid for homeless people in the United Kingdom and also allows children to identify the problems that occur in their community. Shania was nominated for the Student of the Year award as she raised £350 for The Passage by organising bake sales, movie nights and a ‘Pose for Pictures’ event at school with her dog, Casper. Shania attended the award ceremony with Miss Hickling, her Head of Year, and mother. She said: “I was filled with anxiousness because I did not expect to win, however I met many others who had also raised money for their chosen charities and it was great to be amongst such people.” Shania also spoke to Newton House explaining what the Passage was and how they would be raising for this good cause in the upcoming term. When asked about her future plans towards her charity work Shania enthusiastically replied: “During this year’s Charity Week events such as Nail Stations, Bake Sales, Character Picture Drawing and many more are taking place. I also plan to have Pose for Pictures with Casper once again, Milkshake stalls and bake sales during the Christmas Fayre. In addition, I would like to take The Passage committee, a group of 11 students in Year 8, which I have formed to the head office of The Passage Charity.” Ark Academy is extremely proud of Shania and continues to motivate and support her with all her hard work and efforts towards this venture. Chandani Pujawani
Budding chef Amine Abdaoui has proved he’s got a recipe for success by reaching the finals of the ‘Hot Chef 2016’ competition. The Year 11 student impressed the judges in the first round with his gastro-pub serving of seabass on a bed of spinach puree and butternut squash sauce, which saw him become one of 20 semi-finalists out of 10,000 nation-wide contestants! For the semi – final Amine opted to create morroccan cous-cous tabbouleh and deep fried chicken risotto balls. He added homemade hummous, which contained tabasco (rules stated all meals had to include this ingredient) and sour cream. He said: ‘Everyone else was much older and seemed like they were doing more technical things but it’s about the taste. I made sure my presentation was up to scratch as it was 50% of my overall score & they say you eat with your eyes!’ At the finals in March, where only 10 hopefuls remain, the prize is a holiday. He says: I don’t even want the holiday! If I won, it would such a big achievement.’
Ark Academy’s first GCSE year received excellent results across the board with an overall pass rate of 64%. As a Mathematics specialist school we were especially delighted to attain 88% A*- C in the subject with a massive 60% of students gaining A*-B and 36% A*-A grades. The top performing 31 students also took Additional Maths and obtained an excellent 94% pass rate, with a third of students achieving the top grade – phenomenal!
and Spanish to gain 100% and 91% A*- C respectively. Our Principal and teachers were thrilled that the students’ efforts had come to fruition and they were able to progress to further education.
Maths was not the only area where we excelled. The results of the Triple Scientists were also impressive, they gained 100% A-C with almost half achieving A*A grades. Humanities were also fantastic with the Geography outcome a remarkable 80% A*-C, and 70% of grades ranking at A*-B. Modern Language teaching enabled the 100 students who took French
Head of Maths Miss Ozeke said: “I am pleased that the persistence of the students and the years of dedication from our staff has paid off and I’m extremely proud of all of them. As a department, we were very pleased to surpass our aspirational Maths target of 85% A*- C grades.”
Principal Mrs Smith said: “I’m really proud of the hard work put in by our founder students and staff who all poured their hearts and souls into building Ark Academy and have now achieved fantastic results.”
Mrs Smith had never been prouder than when she was introducing her founding cohort at their graduation ceremony to collect their GCSE certificates and school prizes. She announced them to a hall full of admiring parents, form tutors and teachers who were surely thinking back on their own memories of the past 5 years and their enjoyable and crucial role in the development of these accomplished young adults. Mrs Smith spoke of how they had built the school together and developed the core values and especially the notion of ‘Civitas’, which is truly central to all we do – indeed she declared: ‘We have made Civitas a noun – That’s so Civitas!’, drawing laughter from the crowd. Our Principal also acknowledged that as the 1st year through the brand new doors they had been spoilt (but in the best way!) both by the opportunities and the discipline that has shaped them into productive citizens. During touching and humourous testimonials, Kassia, Haider, Shivani and Maaryah gave thanks for their time at Ark Academy and explained that any early misgivings gave way to understanding that our rules and goals were to benefit them only. They were honest and gave us their brightest and best memories of their experience, including Kingswood, sporting events and entertaining past Charity Weeks. Chair of Governors, Patrick Wall, presented the students with their certificates before the outstanding contributors to the year group
received their individual awards from CEO of Ark Schools Lucy Heller. The evening’s prizes were kindly donated by Marshall Wace, a trustee of Ark Schools. It was a wonderful atmosphere thanks to all the proud parents in attendance and a time to reflect on all that has been collectively achieved.
Congratulations Class of 2015!
Diwali Learning about your classmates’ religions is a big part of tolerance and Civitas here at Ark Academy so we made sure our Reception students had the opportunity to understand the meaning of Diwali, the festival of light. Newton class TA Miss Stewart told us about her class' activities: 'For Diwali they did some colouring in of Divas lamps, they had party food and did some dancing and we showed them fireworks, which fitted in well with the term’s curriculum. It is important for them to know how other people celebrate events in their religion and their homes and some of the children celebrate Diwali themselves so they could explain to their friends about the festival.'
Children In Need Years 4 and 5 dressed up as superheroes and in formal wear to fundraise for Children in Need. The children chose the themes themselves and were extremely excited to show off their outfits, especially Year 5, who looked dashing and delightful while dancing the afternoon away! As if that wasn’t enough (!) they held a hot chocolate sale after school to raise even more money for this worthy cause. Year 6 student Niamh said: ‘I came dressed in nonschool uniform and I’m wearing a Pudsey bear top for Children in Need. She added: ‘It’s for children that need some clothes and shoes and food. The money goes to the children that need it in other countries.’
Year 5 teacher Mr Jenner was very pleased with how the day turned out: ‘It was an opportunity to make some money for Children in Need and it was something fun that they wanted to do, so rather than coming in their own clothes and dressing down, it was an opportunity to see how smart they could be. They absolutely loved it and we had a dance party in the afternoon so got to have some fun in their outfits too! It’s the chance to give something to children that don’t have quite as much as you do. We wanted to promote that charitable message, to help others and make sure they get some of the chances that the students here have.’
Primary Perfects Phonics We are extremely proud of Primary for their excellent phonics results and in recognition of this achievement they received a letter (see in full below) from Minister of State for School Reform, Nick Gibb. He congratulated them on achieving such excellent results in their phonics tests this year, with Ark Academy being ranked within the top 5% of primary schools across the country.
A huge well done to all Primary staff and students and, especially Mrs Oscroft, for your hard work and dedication.
In the letter, Mr Gibb said: ‘I am pleased to learn that you have ensured that your Year 1 children have a firm foundation in reading, from which they can develop further and become increasingly fluent readers.’ Headteacher Mr Doswell was delighted: ‘Our phonics results were particularly strong, with 95% of pupils passing the Year 1 phonics check, compared to a national average of just 78%. The school uses the Ruth Miskin phonics programme in order to ensure early literacy and the founding blocks of reading and writing.’ Our children in Early Years have also achieved very well with 84% of the children achieving a good level of development, far exceeding the national average of 60%. It’s lovely to receive recognition from the government for our achievement and we look forward to continuing this standard of results during this academic year.’
Young Athletes Go for Gold on Game Day Year 6 enjoyed a trip to Vale Farm for a day of fun lead by Fit 4 Sports and Everyone Active. They participated in a range of activities such as cycling, rugby, sprinting, parachute games and all kinds of other athletic sports. It was great to see children who don’t usually participate in sport having an amazing time! There were some very satisfied customers as you can tell from the photos!
Hrithika: ‘I liked the cycling because it was really fun even though some were hard to balance on!’
Stilian said: ‘It was fun to have a sports day with Year 6 and we don't usually get to spend time being so active together.’
Tristan: ‘The best part of the day was the bikes. The two seater bike was cool.’
Shaunella: 'My favourite thing was the rugby tag!'
Year 7 Induction Week!
wanted to go but I did not expect to be chosen to go on the Science trip and I was extremely happy when I was because I had lots of fun especially during the soap fight.”
Year 7 Induction Week was a great start for our Year 7s, with a variety of activities such as designing posters about the pledge, making key chains in Resistant Materials, a fashion show where clothes were made from newspapers, new activities in PE and everyone’s favourite… The Disco. Year 7s love the lifestyle at Ark Academy!
The newbies have loved being able to attend enrichment, with a variety of fun things on offer; they grasp every opportunity available and extracurricular activities such as choir and instrument lessons are looked forward to.
The new students also had the privilege to meet a poet and attempt writing their own poem to show their appreciation. With exciting trips on offer Year 7 highly valued the chance of being able to attend. Daniela Pinto in 7 Milk said “I really
Many Year 7s found they broke out of their comfort zones rapidly and settled in to Ark Academy quite well. Eugenia Fordjour in 7 Buton said: “At first I was quite scared and shy but I was more confident within the first day at Ark Academy and I enjoy lessons and the teaching as well as spending time with my new friends”.
Anti-Bullying Week This year from the 16th to the 20th of November, at Ark, students and teachers united once more to fight against an issue that has caused difficulty for many young students throughout many schools and communities. The focus this year was on cyber-bullying, which has led to many being targeted when they are alone and most vulnerable. During the week, events were held in the library to make many victims speak out against bullying. Students from all year groups shared their stories and learnt from each other how to stop the problem from continuing.
Anti-bullying poetry was also recited, and these activities and discussions helped students from Years 7-11 to unite and to not feel alone when facing this problem. Rasha Musa from Year 8 entered her Anti Bullying poster into a competition she discovered online because she felt it was such an important issue. She explained: ‘The picture can make people realise how badly bullying can hurt. It’s best if you let other people know what you’re experiencing so it can end quicker and you will feel so much better.’ We applaud Rasha for being so Civitas and look forward to seeing how she fares in the contest! Iman Ahmadi - Moghaddam
The Year 7s found Induction Week helpful as they could not find their way to lessons in such a huge building at first and being the only year group to access the Academy for a whole week allowed them to be familiar with their timetable. They also found detentions a surprise as they were not used to such a system in Primary school. Regardless they strove for merits, portraying the Academy’s core values in all ways. Andreea Cavasniuc in 7 Milk said “I love to remember my first Civitas merit for excellent participation in Plato’s House Assembly task, as I felt my hard work had been acknowledged and I felt proud”. Chandani Punjawani
“You’re a poet and you don’t even know it” With more than six year groups in the school the amount of talent was unbelievable and it must have been tough for the judges to choose the best from so many great reciters and poets. There were so many great performances this year. We had participants from all year groups, each of them reciting beautifully. We also had many meaningful and skilfully made original poems from creative young minds. The audience was also bigger than ever; many students had come to cheer their friends on or just to come relax and listen to a few good poems. Miss Smyth one of the librarian’s watching the performance said: “It was great to see so many young minds making great poems. I was so surprised by the amount of skill shown today as well as the great variety of poems and the maturity.” We had several Year 11 runner-ups including Kandice, Fatima and Milola. “It was wonderful being able to speak the truth and motivate people through my poem. I am happy to have that experience”, said Milola, after performing a very meaningful poem which
World Book Day started early this year with the opportunity to enter a contest to answer the question ‘Where does reading take you?’ Our budding filmmakers led by enthusiastic librarians Miss Smyth and Miss Dineen decided it would be fun to make a mini-movie called ‘Trading Pages’ seeing what chaos would ensue when teachers and students switched places for the day. Parbes Ahmed, who both filmed and starred in the movie said: ‘It was really good, I really liked working with the costumes and set design because I’m really into Drama.
was more of a social commentary that had great importance for himself and others. Now we wait for hopefully, an even bigger performance next year. But I seriously doubt that anything will out do this year’s slam. Iman Ahmadi - Moghaddam
The most fun part was getting paint all over my face during the Art scene! Asked what it was like when the teachers became the students he replied: ‘They were very annoying and I didn’t know how to react! Now I’m more quiet in lessons haha!’ Miss Smyth explained: ‘We really wanted to explore the relationships between students and teachers in school which can sometimes be tumultuous! We thought a good idea would be to step in one another’s shoes via reading.
One of the funniest moments had to be filming with Team English who were far too convincing as naughty children!’ We await the results of the competition and hope our students continue to let reading take them to all manner of weird and wonderful places over the Christmas break.
Sixth ForPam ges Dear Sixth Form Students, Parents & Carers, It’s been a ground-breaking first three months for the pioneers of our dynamic Sixth Form. The term has had many “firsts”: our first Sixth Form residential; our first set of Sixth Form assessments; our first set of Mini Project Qualifications; our first steps to our first Ark Diplomas; our first Sixth Form “Off Spec” trips (12 so far!); our first Careers Evening with North London Collegiate School; our first Student SLT and Prefects team. It’s also been a record breaking term: we have had more applications to Sixth Form than ever before (280 and counting). We’ve had our first Off Spec talks from leading Mathematics, Engineering, and Literature Professors as well as an explorer and, upcoming this week, a M&S new food developer (mmm!) and a leading Times journalist.
And the feedback so far has been very positive: Year 12 tell us they enjoy life in the Sixth Form and are purposeful. And our visitors are consistently impressed. A University Admission Officer from Oxford University commented: “I’ve rarely seen such a good set-up geared at helping sixth formers to communicate with each other and the staff in an adult way… I’m sure these students will be well-prepared for university”. Marcia Headon, the Lead of the Ark Monitoring Visit on 26 th November, said: “I think your sixth form enrichment is superb. One of the best I have seen in a long time (and I inspect quite a few sixth forms).” I also write this with fingers crossed for our first set of mock results (we are in the middle of the mock period right now) and with “University Progression” as the next item on the To Do List. We have made big strides in the first term, but clearly this is only just the beginning…
Chris Fairbairn Director of Sixth Form
Civitas Magazine Writers: Aysha Lohan, Dhruv Gajjar, Maaryah Siddiqi, Shivani Khatri, Kassia Tavares and Assistant Principal, Mr Sawbridge
This year we have been given the opportunity to become Prefects and be part of the Senior Leadership Team. Prefects are the ambassadors of Ark Academy and those who represent our school to guests. Their job entails tours, talking to guests and making our sixth form a better place for the students, similarly to the SLT. On the other hand, the SLT are the bridge between students and teachers. They help the teachers decide what to improve on within the school and put it into practice. As SLT, we hope to improve the way our school is run and bring about changes, in limits, that the students demand to create a better environment to learn in.
Although at sixth form we are able to work due to self-motivation and not bribing, it is always nice to be treated for our hard work. In response to this, we are trying to organise a school outing for the whole of sixth form, such as Thorpe Park, as an award. SLT and Prefects are here to help actively improve our school and show others just what an amazing school we are.
Shivani Khatri
Each SLT member shadows a teacher in their SLT and helps them with their area of expertise. I have been allocated to shadow Ms Ryan who deals with Assessment and Curriculum. We will be working together to improve assessments and data representation. One area of assessment we are currently zoning into are mocks which will be extremely beneficial to students. Since I have done my mock exams and completed my GCSEs, I am aware of the changes that need to be made to improve mocks for the upcoming year groups. Teachers are indeed outstanding at Ark Academy but being teachers, it is sometimes hard to understand a student’s point of view on certain matters so we are going to aid the teachers in understanding their perspectives and meeting half way with their wishes. One request from the students is to have more awards especially in sixth form since there are not many in place.
One of the biggest changes that came with entering sixth form was being given the opportunity to run our own enrichments and societies. Whilst this task was a great responsibility, it was also a challenge which we had to tackle head on. So far, many sixth formers have started up their own enrichments such as STEM club, Junior Youth Theatre and Football club.
When this was first introduced, I did think that we would get a lot of direction from teachers seeing as they lead enrichments all throughout my years in secondary school.
For me, the most difficult part about running an enrichment was figuring out what would interest the students. It was very important to sixth formers who were organising enrichments that they became something that students could look forward to and enjoy.
This to me was incredibly liberating as we had the freedom to run an enrichment the way we wanted to but also the responsibility to organise all the details such as what day it would be on.
It was also very difficult to advertise seeing as we have some much happening in Ark daily but the Year 7 enrichment fair at the start of the year was a great opportunity to ‘sell’ our enrichments to younger pupils. It has been very rewarding to have students come to our enrichments and fully participate in what we organise. The level of respect that they show us is both humbling and surprising at times but there is also a lot of fun times and comradery.
However, the whole process of starting up an enrichment as well as leading it was very much an independent one with help only on logistics and technicalities.
Overall, I think the idea of having Year 12s run an enrichment of their own has been a very productive one so far. There have, of course, been some setbacks and there are things which need improvement (such as attendance) but it has been an excellent challenge and responsibility which I feel sixth formers have really enjoyed.
Kassia Tavares
On Thursday 10th of September, Year 12 found themselves in the middle of nowhere (Oxfordshire). We were firstly split into two camps and then groups with different tribe leaders. The programme included a range of activities that tested and improved our teamwork skills. The main team building activity was creating our own shelter. We were only given a piece of camouflaged plastic and some string. Carrying logs and branches wasn’t the challenge, agreeing on what design our tents would have was the real struggle. My tribe took a more original approach to the task and instead of building the conventional shelter that consisted of the plastic being hung over two strings creating a diagonal roof with logs, we decided to get as many big branches as possible and lean them against the one tree.
Predator. This was a game ( I sound so Year 7 I know) that we played numerous times , that involved us trying to get to a tree without being spotted by the scout. We could only move when the Scout was counting for 5 seconds and was facing the tree. I won most of the games! Besides the freezing night there was nothing we could complain about. You only have to look at the new friendships made to realise how successful this programme was. Even Clement Owusu who was so determined not to come said “ I would have definitely stayed for longer if I could”. Andrei Bogdan
Our tribe spent more than an hour perfecting the structure but in the end we were told that we couldn’t sleep in it, a real shame I know. The wilderness put a lot of people out of their comfort zone which made them rely on others for guidance and support. We all built on each other and nobody was left out. I can’t talk about my Bushcraft experience without mentioning
Our long planned Sixth Form evening was a roaring success as we welcomed more than 250 visiting students. Our classrooms were filled with interactive tasks, from rat dissections in Biology to scenes from Othello in English, to a muscle memory test in PE, to give them a taste of what Year 12 academic life at Ark Academy would be like. The most important goal was to convey what a strong community we’re building and those foundations are still growing. We clearly achieved this, receiving testimonials from attendees saying we were ‘friendly, organised and know our stuff.’ We couldn’t agree more! A huge thank you to all staff who assisted on the night. Economics and Business teacher, Mr Alexander, was impressed with Year 12: ‘I could bore you with the theory of marketing but tonight we saw it in its true form – you were an absolute credit to the school and should be very proud of yourselves.’
Transition to Sixth Form... Going into Sixth Form from GCSE was not what I expected. The Induction week eased me in for the rollercoaster that was yet to come. Transitioning to being a Sixth Former isn’t all about the knowledge that you know from GCSE – although that’s very important! It’s mainly about having the right mentality of being ready to focus and having a growth mind set as you’re learning challenging and interesting topics. As soon as I started the A Level topics I felt like a fish out of water, as I can imagine many people did. As the weeks have gone by, I found myself embracing the subjects and loving the new content. From this experience I have learnt a lot about myself. I have learnt what works best for me. I’ve discovered about myself that I work best in groups, which is so that I can talk with my peers and allow them to challenge my way of thinking. I also like to make notes summarising topics. This becomes very useful when trying to revise and it saves me a backache from carrying home four folders every night. Over the course of this term, I believe I have matured in not just the way I behave but in the way that I approach my learning. Giving up in A Level is not an option. I am more determined to make sure I understand rather than just leaving it for the last minute as time waits for no man or woman, or for me to catch up on work! I would say that the most important word that I’ve learnt over the course of the half term that reflects me and the others in sixth form is Independence. Building a better community is the definition of Civitas. Therefore, building a Sixth Form community is vital. Having an environment you can work in without the fear of feeling uncomfortable or feeling ‘out of place’ is guaranteed due to the connections made with the external students and the new members of staff. This has had a good impact on my learning as I am able to help others which makes me approachable when others are in need. My hopes for the rest of the year are for Year 12 to smash their mock exams in December to lift our spirits higher than they already are in believing that we can pass our AS exams. I hope that the content doesn’t get any harder in Year 12 – I highly doubt this! Mainly, I hope that all of Year 12 still has this strong bond with each other and that this remains throughout the year and continues through Year 13 as this would make school life easier for everyone! In Year 13 opening our envelopes for our A level results I hope that everyone is happy with the results they got and for the teachers to be proud of us as we have done them proud. Shaniqua Devonish
The Progression of our building... it’s on target! The building, well, started off as a wasteland filled with vegetation and trees and today, a brand new sixth form building is standing ready for completion on February 2016. Personally, we are more excited about our upcoming launch party! 14 The Civitas
FromThis...
July - November
To This...
Ark Academy’s Official Magazine
Beet-hoven a good time! On the 12th November the three students taking music A-Level went to the Barbican to watch the London Symphony Orchestra perform three pieces to 1,000 spectators. The show was also live on BBC radio 3. Although the trip was not part of the music A-level curriculum Ciara found herself “listening out for cadences and modulations” whilst Simeon was more interested in “the looks of admiration on the faces of the spectators”. Thanks to Ms Hickling who arranged the tickets and Mr Hazledine for accompanying us. DUN DUN DUN DUUUN! You’ve probably heard of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – and if you haven’t you should definitely look it up - but there is nothing like hearing it performed live by a professional orchestra in a concert hall. We sat in anticipation looking at the empty seats on stage awaiting the performers to fill them. Gradually, the mass of different instruments were gathered on stage, joined shortly after by an enthusiastic conductor. The lights dimmed as they raised their instruments…. Dun dun dun duuun! You can’t help but smile at the familiarity of the tune and clarity of notes and how everyone gets so involved in the music. Most people have never heard the symphony in full so we sat and immersed ourselves in 36 minutes of pure Beethoven. The changes from loud to quiet were just as the deaf musician had intended and every instrument could be seen as well as heard which added to the feeling of urgency in the piece. It was easy to tell when a big moment was approaching because more people would raise their instruments and get in position to blast the sound around the hall.
At the end of the lively 4th movement, we were left to process what we had heard. Listening to a piece as famous and well known as Beethoven’s Fifth is an experience recommended to anyone who gets the opportunity. Of course, you may be in the mind-set that classical music is “not your thing” but even just watching the cellists move in complete unison is entertainment in itself. Hypnotising, in fact. The Strauss piece, Death and Transfiguration was beautiful, telling the moving story of the death of an artist. It was an unfamiliar piece that moved delicately but appeared slightly mundane. This could’ve been due to that fact that we had just listened to one of Beethoven’s greatest symphonies (unfortunate timing for the ‘other German’) or perhaps its lack of contrast and commotion. The final piece, the closing scene from ‘Capriccio’, also by Strauss, was an experience of listening to German solo singer, Anne Schwanewilms, with the orchestra. Like all clichéd opera singers, the vocalist was a bit of a diva and looked at the audience as if she was in love with us all. The lyrics were in German yet somehow every word was understood thanks to her expression and, of course, the brilliant London Symphony Orchestra supporting her. Aysha Lohan & Ciara Barrett
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Year 11 Work Experience Ugne Plekaviciute did her work experience at the Chase Care Home in Watford. It was a placement the school gave her and it wasn’t something she was keen on. Her job was to feed, play and talk to the patients at the home. She said: “I was a bit nervous at the start because I would be dealing with sick patients and it was a new environment for me but as the week went on, I became more comfortable and got to know more of the patients and about the job.” She was given a Civitas award as she handled her job with a positive and mature attitude. Mustafa Mirabdulhagh worked at the Royal Marsden Hospital, and said: ‘It was a great experience from the moment I stepped into there to the moment I left. It is a cancer specialist hospital and I was welcomed with happy faces and talking to some of the brave patients really showed me what they were going through and although it was hard to see them struggle they were grateful and that put a smile on my face. “On my first day I was really nervous about entering the operating theatre and after getting changed, my knees were shaking and palms sweating – it was nerve wracking!
Following Miss McHaffie's visit to Nepal over the summer holidays, where she taught children the art of print making with supplies provided by Ark Academy, she decided to put on an auction of her photographs from the trip. The photographs were showcased alongside the prints created by the children, to raise funds for the NERF charity (Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund) which aims to rebuild schools in the region.
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My stress was put at ease when the surgeons turned on the songs in the theatre room and my shaking stopped. My favourite part about my placement was meeting new patients every day and each of them with a different story.” Kandice Hopwood chose to work at a Imperial make up studios because ‘make up, fashion, photography and modelling are all areas that I’m strong at and have an eye on them for my future. I was able to learn both sides of the business , the practical side is what I’m most interested in and the business side which I found difficult in some cases, with using figures.” She explained: “This enabled me to understand what it takes to build a business, something I’m interested in. The biggest and best task we had to complete was to make and create our own individual photoshoot with the theme of our choice – this taught me to not go over my budget, to be organised and stick to my plan.” Kaftun Mohamed
The evening was a great success with 26 of the 30 prints by the Nepalese children being sold on the night, while the remaining 4 sold privately. Impressively, the prints went for between £50 and £60 after being put on the market for £40. One generous gentleman paid £200 for one print which was a portrait by one of the children. Miss McHaffie said: “It was a full house and we were ecstatic about the turn out. The final total was £1752 which is incredible.”
Ark Academy’s Official Magazine
House Art The annual art project to celebrate our academy values outdid itself this year with vibrant displays on the theme of ‘Diversity’. Newton’s intricate tube map of the world’s countries placed 1st, Curie’s elaborate coat of arms was 2nd, with Plato’s vibrant Tree of Diversity coming in third and Socrates’ cultural fingerprint was 4th. Mr Ahmed, Head of Newton House, spoke wof his pride at winning:
“Newton winning the house art competition was the icing on the cake for an amazing half term. The pupils who worked tirelessly to make the artwork look so effortless are the real reason behind the success. They have set a very high bar through their hard work, persistence and excellence that I am sure will be hard to beat in years to come!”
pleased with the contributions from staff and students that are on the Tree of Diversity – they are personal and lovely.’
Plato’s head, Miss Addison, was duly impressed with her House’s entry, which comprised of a tree with various hands placed on it that contained messages. She said: ‘It’s definitely the best piece we have ever put together, I’m really
‘Clement in Year 12 was a standout for me, the hands he contributed were amazing as well as his calligraphy on the piece. The suggestions he provided for us, tweaking our entry here and there, were much appreciated.’
She added: ‘I really liked the idea of the hands as it relates to people and they designed it; they’re placing their own stamp of identity on the tree, which is great.’
Secondary Open Evening This year’s school Open Evening was bigger and better than ever before. We had more than 500 Year 6 students visit and see the greatness we had to offer. All the departments presented all the different things the school had to offer. The maths department, I believe had the most memorable presentation of Gelosia and interactive games that made many of the visitors eager to join. Vishal in Year 11 was one of the many generous helpers who made the evening better. “I was shattered, there were so many visitors. It was really difficult, but it was worth it because we were able to show the best of our school as well as expanding the horizons of these curious Year 6s.”
I myself was a tour guide for the open evening and saw their interest and curiosity about our school increase after each department’s presentation. They asked more questions about the facilities, the teachers and the students. I said: ‘The facilities as you can see are kept in perfect condition after years of use and there are many different types of facilities all around the school, from the corridor computer areas, to the music practice and production rooms to the great indoor sports facilities, as well as outdoor.” Overall it was great to speak to many of Ark Academy’s potential Year 7 group and to help them get more curious about this school as well as secondary education. Iman Ahmadi - Moghaddam
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Socrates’ Ark’s Got Talent As ever, the show consisted of eight talented contestants. Angel (Year 8) began the show with a bang, performing Jessie J’s famous hit ‘Bang Bang’. She shocked the audience when she opened her mouth to sing, then amazed us further with her incredible rapping skills. Renesha and Kandice took the stage to perform the heartfelt emotional song: ‘We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off’ by Ella Eyre; with their own touch. They were thoroughly supported by their Year 11 peers who were waving their arms in unison. It was certainly Civitas in Action! “Last year I didn’t get through but I’m ready to perform this year!” exclaimed Brandon (Year 8) prior to the show.He brought the audience to their feet with his entertaining performance of, ‘Traveller’s Chant’ by Rizzle Kicks.
The Year 9 duos, Tre and Lemuel, who rapped ‘Who?’ and Victor and Ilyas, who street danced for their lives, impressed the audience with their creations. After all that excitement Hadeal (Year 7) took the stage with Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’. Her first performance in front of a massive crowd, she took everyone by surprise with her beautiful voice. Last year’s runner up, Alice (Year 11) took a risk to perform the trending song ‘Hello’ by Adele. She didn’t fail to impress with her divine voice. Of course, following her immaculate replica performance, she was crowned the winner of Ark’s Got Talent 2015 and also took the Audience Award. Minali Alwis
Newton’s So You Think You Can Dance? The special thing about this event was that it was audience driven, with no official judges. The reactions of the audience would decide who would be crowned the winner. A large group of Year 7s definitely showed their support for their fellow peers and this comradery and exceptional talent helped Newton house to raise money for The Passage Charity, which aims to help homeless people . The first act was performed by Shannae Campbell, (Year 11) who is already known for her street dancing capabilities and Esther (Year 10). They were an amazing pair, who seemed to work together extremely well. They flowed together and you could see the cooperation with each other. Shannae said: “It was a good experience and everybody is really talented.” Next, was a group of Year 8 students consisting of Jada, Kamarley, Sammy, Jason and Paris. They delighted the audience with cool tricks like flips and stunts and also showcased a great sense of teamwork with each other. It was full of many different elements and therefore an overall fantastic performance. Jimmy, Juhlik and Thiers displayed amazing
team work from the groups was shown! With their many stunts and tricks that the audience reacted well to. The fact that they are in Year 7 and had the courage to perform in front of the older year groups with confidence is brilliant! The last group to perform were Year 9 duo Victor and Ilyas. I was expecting good things as they had already participated earlier in Ark’s Got Talent and I was delighted at their awesome skills! With just a few minutes to prepare, the fact that they performed at all
is an achievement and they are definitely two super talented boys. Victor commented: “I know we didn’t have much time, but you should never give up and always try.” However, it was the group of Year 7 boys that actually won with the deafening screams of their supporters at the side-lines. Jimmy stated: “We feel astonished, but everyone’s a winner at the end.” Isabella Addo
Plato’s ‘Stars In Their Eyes’ In this special edition of ‘Stars In Their Eyes’, the teachers transformed instead and this made it an extremely fun event! Mr Kirkman was the 1st act and Ms Lisk described him as someone who “sings in the corridors and at the gates.” Mr Oxby accompanied him on the guitar, with Mr Edwards on the piano, while he sang Sam Smith’s ‘I’m Not The Only One’.
Then Mr Edwards surprised everyone as Bieber Fever spread around the room, as he sang ‘What do you mean?’ He really put the effort in as he dressed up with tattoos, a track suit and his hair was even dyed blonde! The atmosphere was charged with energy and the crowd clapped and sang along, proving we were all now Beliebers!
Next was Ms McAuley who sang Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About that Bass.’ She was helped by the support of her awesome colleagues as back up dancers. She said “I really loved being Meghan Trainor tonight!”
Lastly, Ms Lisk was the final fabulous performance of the night. With the assistance of some Year 11 and 12 back up dancers, she covered Beyoncé’s famous hit ‘Single Ladies’. The crowd adored her and gave her a well-deserved standing ovation!
Librarian Ms Smyth then sang Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’. The crowd were shocked and they all loved it! Even Ms Addison, Head of Plato House, was speechless. To add to this, some younger students were her faithful back up performers and this was a cute part of the performance.
Our very own Sasha Fierce stood out in a brown wig and shimmery dress singing the well-known tune…and was clearly loving her moment to shine! The event was a major highlight of the week and hopefully very helpful to Plato and their chosen charity.
Mr Ahmed, Head of Newton House, sang ‘The Lazy Song’ by Bruno Mars, and even though he unfortunately forgot the words, the crowd were helpful in singing along!
The Curie Carnival was an event not to be missed! The hall was buzzing with excitement as the students danced along to the trending dance tunes while outside the stalls were filled with customers eager to spend their money on games, snacks and other fun products. It seemed like most of the members from Curie House had joined in to create an enthusiastic and enjoyable atmosphere. Miss James mentioned: “The stalls were a very great idea for teachers and students to get involved! A lot of profit is being made for charity!” Whilst the stalls were busy selling and making money for the joint good cause of Marie Curie and Red Cross Syria Appeal, in the hall all the dancers were having a great time. Many of the youngsters danced along to every song; the DJ knew exactly which tunes to play. As every song began a roar of enthusiasm was followed by the entire crowd pulling out their best moves, no-one was affected by the loud music, in fact it made them dance all the more! However when asked, Miss Haslam said: “This dancing is a bit too modern for me,” with a smile, “But it’s great!” As ever, the carnival ended with a song we all love and everyone joined in unison to enjoy the last dance to, ‘Candy’. Minali Alwis
Isabella Addo
Sports Round-up
Girls Netball...Update! Netball is a very popular sport for the girls in school and there is always fierce competition to get onto the team in your year group. Miss Addison always has a lot of talent to choose from and this was evident in the Year 8 and Year 11 teams. Year 8 girls were crowned Brent Champions on Monday 1st October. Miss Addison commented on the girls efforts: ‘They played really well as a team of raw talent and fast learners’. The girls were able to win all of their 7 matches to be crowned welldeserved Brent Champions. The elite Year 8 were Kaya Lohan, Tykaela De-Gale, Sara Bulhan, Jeliqa Stephenson, Auriana Allen, Paris Maduro and Angel Egbuche. The Year 11 girls also played extremely well in the senior girls’ netball tournament which is made-up of Year 11-13 pupils. Miss Addison said, ‘The girls played very well in their six games and worked incredibly hard throughout to win 3, draw 2 and lose one by one goal. 2nd place in Brent is a fantastic achievement’. Very well done to Lorena Bala, Ugne Plekaviciute, Kaftun Mohamed, Divine Mabala, Shaakeelah Greenland, Shannae Campbell and Summer Bywater. Cameron Russell
Ark Staff vs JRF Fundraising Football Match Ark Academy have hosted a charity football match with a twist to raise money for an educational PE trip to Grenada. The Ark teachers lined up against a team of ex-Pros playing for the Jason Roberts Foundation.
Not to be deterred, Ark hit back with Miss Cullen making a strong tackle at left back. Although Mr Foster and Mr Edmondson had marshalled the defence for Ark, the Legends were able to capitalise on slip-ups that the amateurs may normally have gotten away with.
The Jason Roberts Foundation have forged close links with Ark Academy in the past year, providing expert SEN (Special Educational Needs) sports coaching for children at the school.
As Mr Edmondson rung the changes in the name of charity, the Staff succumbed to a 6-1 defeat that remained competitive and enjoyable for all involved. Man of the Match: Miss Gallagher, Ark Staff.
In the opening period of the game, Ark were on the front foot, cheered on by a huge crowd of students. JRF’s captain, Otis Roberts (20 international caps for Grenada) was seen visibly frustrated at the attacks Ark were forging, yelling at his players to “get the game won before we starting doing the fancy stuff”. Unfortunately for the Ark Staff, a poor defensive clearance from the school’s goalkeeper led to a one-on-one which resulted in the opening goal.
JRF's Captain Otis Roberts was pleased to get the win saying: ‘Playing football in the sunshine with the backdrop of Wembley was great and it’s good to get some of the foundation guys together and glad that some of the ex-pros gave up some of their time to support the school and the charity.
20 The Civitas
Cameron Russell
Ark Academy’s Official Magazine
New Sport...Rugby! Something new this term for all of you Sports Fans. We’ve found another sport that, so far, Ark Academy excel at…Rugby. Would you believe it? Mr Edmondson has done an amazing job with our Year 8 boys and they came away with a victory in their first competitive match, winning 20-15 against William Ellis School. Isaac Adelekan commented on our performance: ‘The team played very well’. Jonathan Tate agreed: ‘We played well as a team and even though we were behind we pushed hard to win at the end.’ This early success shows that there are no weaknesses to Ark’s sporting prowess. The students have also been massively enjoying the training sessions after school on a Friday and are all falling in love with rugby as their newest sport that Ark offers. The PE department do a tremendous job of exposing students to all sports to broaden their horizon in the sports careers at Ark (and of course Mr O’Carroll wants more trophies to add to the case in the atrium!) Cameron Russell
Sixth Form Football Team It’s not every day you see a Sixth Form football team, but we aren’t your everyday Sixth Form. At the beginning of this term, Year 12 was given the opportunity to run our own enrichments, either for the younger years or for ourselves. Whilst most people decided to start enrichments for the years below, Shakyle decided to create a football team. This idea excited a lot of the boys as well as their teachers. After the idea was given the go ahead, a lot of thought was put into running the enrichment. Training, staff help, match scheduling, kit design – turned out to be a lot more hard work than was initially thought. However, with the help of Mr Cumberbatch and some footballers in Year 12, the main decisions were quickly made. It was decided that training would be held on Thursdays from 4-5pm and their supervising staff would be Mr Cumberbatch – also the manager – who would organise fixtures with other schools. . Training got off to a brilliant start! A turn out of a phenomenal 25 boys to the first training session, this shocked a lot of people. However the great training sessions only lasted 2 weeks, until the unfortunate event of having lower school fixtures on during the training time meant that the players couldn’t practice. They were without training for 2 weeks before their very first game of the season – not the best start. On the other hand, everyone is looking forward to re starting training ASAP! Our first match was against Preston Manor and who could forget the magnificent clearance by Zaki off the goal line, saving the side from a 4 goal defeat. He later said “I’m not a defender, I’m THE defender.” Unfortunately, many players suffered cramps and there was even some frustration between players and the manager. The final score was Preston Manor 5 Ark Academy 2. A great warm up and useful for the manager to know what improvements to make. We hope for a better rest of the season, and expect nothing less. Final words from Mr. C: “A good loss leads to greater wins.” Dhruv Gajjar
Ark Triumphant in Football Derbys against Sister School Ark Elvin Everybody loves football and this was shown in the tremendous wins we have had early in the yearly football season, commonly against our neighbouring Ark School, Ark Elvin. Beginning with the veteran Year 11 team who came out with a 9-0 win over Ark Elvin. Kaine, who scored 4 of those goals, said overall about the match, ‘The team played well and learnt from previous mistakes from other matches’. Continuing on to Year 10, they also handed Ark Elvin another humiliating defeat in their 10-4 victory. A key contender in that match, Joshua Okello, said ‘It was a great performance from all of us, we played good football which lead to the win’.
Jason Roberts Foundation Grenada Fundraising! Miss Cullen and Mr Edmondson went to Grenada in the Caribbean where they visited Petite Martinique, an island of 800 residents and 1 school, also known as the smallest island in the archipelago.
When asked about future plans as a result of this trip, Mr Edmondson said "There is still lots of work to do with P.E. in Grenada but we are looking forward to going back and doing more comprehensive teacher training in the new year."
Miss Cullen delivered a P.E. lesson and Mr Edmondson held an inset for the teachers about primary school PE. They then visited Carriacou which is an island of 8000 people to visit a football tournament and speak to more primary school teachers.
Back at Ark Academy, our students got involved by writing Pen Pal letters to children in Grenada who are being supported by the Jason Roberts Foundtion. These letters were then passed to Grenada and to the children there.
When they returned to Grenada island they visited three different special needs schools, training the teachers on how to teach P.E. to children with special needs. They met with Lynette Isaac from the Ministry for Education, who is in charge of coordinating Special Education for Carriacou and Petite Martinique. They also met with the Grenadian Homeless World Cup Football Squad. The Jason Roberts Foundation have been working closely with school leavers in Grenada to promote vocational skills such as CV writing. Mr Edmondson played with Jason Roberts himself and the whole team hosted a special needs and downs syndrome Sports Day at Saint George's University. 22 The Civitas
When asked what they have achieved, Miss Cullen said: "We learnt an awful lot and helped the students and teachers there a lot", which is what matters most.
We are yet to receive replies from them, but they are expected to come very soon and we are excited to hear what they have to say! Allain Del Rosario
Good Deed Feed... Ark Academy celebrates the good deeds that have happened during our autumn term. Have a look below, can you spot your name?
Ciara Barrett and Aysha Lohan (Year 12). They help out with Senior and Junior Choir, coming along to rehearsals to accompany the choir and sing along with the pupils. They are a huge help to me, as well as being really supportive of pupils in the choir and providing Junior Choir with a source of inspiration! Nominated by Miss Walker
Parbes Ahmed – Incredible baking and organisation to help teachers left, right and centre with preparing for leaving and maternity presents! Zenayce Cameron-Bussue – An enormous amount of extra revision work has been done by Zenayce so that she has achieved 10 Silver Merits this term! Nominated by Miss Hickling
Haider Moosa gave an amazing presentation today to 10 Noether about his experience at Auschwitz. He had the students full attention as he delivered a well thought-out, meaningful and thought provoking form time to them. Nominated by Mr Oxby
Kane – putting the teachers to shame during the Insanity workout in charity week – amazing participation and commitment to raising money for charity! Nominated by Mr Higson
Mohamuud Mohammed and Bellecia Kearney for tying ties for other students at the end of English lesson. Nominated by Miss Cullen
Monique and Raynesha (10 Py). They have demonstrated the true definition of Civitas by helping 7 Parks to adjust to life at Ark Academy and by assisting the form with our form book. They have given up their own free time to assist us with this and 7 Parks are truly grateful and appreciative of the wisdom they have shared!
Nominated by Miss Bryan
Dawid Soltysik, Marylin Maruthan, Ubah Ali-Ahmed, Toshai Graham, Faith Lucien-Kerr, Divine Mabala, Mohammed Al-Nasrawi and Corey John for always helping out with younger students in pupil support – very much appreciated!! Nominated by Miss Shotton
Sahaf Ibn Jobaer for consistently and enthusiastically completing Civitas merit missions to a high standard. Nominated by Mr Coward
Mashael Saed and Rhea Patel in Year 9. For helping others who were struggling with revision, so Civitas! Miss Giannarou, Miss Castillo and Miss McMillan for being so helpful and supportive and always having time to answer questions ! Nominated by Mr Gidman
Heba is an amazing linguist and is a natural teacher, always willing to help others in the class and as a result of her incredible support this time, Rebecca was able to rise to the challenge of her first controlled assessment with confidence. Nominatd by Miss Giannarou
Darshini Bhudia, Ioana Buscu, Tia Patel and Noreen Alaswad are 7 Bonhoeffer legends in keeping me organised and helping out with all manner of form related things.
I’d love to give a shout-out to Lorenc Gjoka in my Y7 Science class for always thinking of my safety when we’re setting up a practical and bringing me a pair of safety goggles, without me having to say a word! Nominated by Miss Zanstra
Ali A and Rasiq in Year 11 for their tireless efforts with the year seven B and C teams on a Friday, especially Ali’s extremely detailed training sessions Nominated by Mr Edmondson
Thanks to Mr Ding who gets 11 Yellow in their seats each week as I rush down from 3rd floor! Much needed and appreciated!
Nominatd by Miss Zanstra
Design & Graphics | Dawid Soltysik & Susan Mintern
Photography | Christina Donellan & Emma Franklin Articles | Susan Mintern & Y11 & 12 Prefects
Nominatd by Miss Mason