The Civitas ARK ACADEMY’S OFFICIAL MAGAZINE _
AUTUMN #19 _
INSIDE
HISTORY
Y R O T IS H H G U O R H T S ARK LEARN AND MUCH MORE...
WE LEARN THROUGH HISTORY Dear Students and Parents, A mammoth term, in a year of surprises and history in the making. In terms of our history, we have completed our first term with a full all-through school to Year 13 and appointed our first Head Boy and Head Girl. Our Sixth Form have been a splendid addition and through their various leadership roles have contributed to the well-being of our community. Otherwise, we have learned through history in so many ways from our commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, the Year 10 visits to the Welcome Collection and the Huntarian museum to look at the history of medicine or the Year 8 trip to the Museum of London Docklands. Our past informs our future and indeed impacts on our perceptions and values. Our Year 13 have been working this term on their future through their past in Ark Academy and their wider learning to write their personal statements for their university applications. Their past is very much their story and how they want to ‘advertise their life.’ So we congratulate them for their many excellent offers for the future. I hope that all our students recognise that through their own personal history they write their future. I wish one and all a very happy and peaceful Christmas.
Delia Smith OBE Principal of Ark Academy, Wembley Ark Academy’s prefects were busy this term writing exciting stories for your magazine! From exciting Hallowen dress down day in October to House Music competitions, they certainly got a decent amount of information for your bed time reading! Have an amazing Christmas break!
The Civitas Magazine Writers
E S C G & L E V E AS L
AWA
Ark Academy held it’s second annual presentation evening to celebrate the success of their GCSE and A Level students for the June 2016 Examinations. The evening begun with a powerful speech by Maaryah, our Head Girl, who highlighted what an amazing seven years it has been to be a part of Ark Academy. 180 Year 11 students graduated at the ceremony and Head Boy Clement thanked his Head of Year during his speech. ‘Without the one and only Miss Downey, Year 11 wouldn’t have got this far.’ he said. Sir Michael Wilshaw, HMCI presented the AS and GCSE certificates to our proud students and gave a powerful speech about leadership. In Year 13, Jai Stewart was awarded the ‘Best UMS performance across the Sixth Form’. Jai, who is studying Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics scored 400 UMS in his AS examinations and only missed out by 2 marks in one of his Maths paper, otherwise scoring full marks on all other units. Ella Clarke was awarded the ‘Most Civitas Student’ in our Sixth Form. ‘Her smile and ability to cheer up anyone is amazing’ Mrs Smith said. This story wouldn’t be complete without the mention of our Sixth Form band who performed ‘Valerie’. ‘It was really nice to see our Sixth Form community spending time outside of their studies to rehearse and perform such an amazing piece’ said Mr Alexander, our Sixth Form vice-principal. These sort of occasions are the things that make our school tick, things that bring us all together, from different backgrounds and communities to celebrate the successes and one another.
G N I N E V E N O I T A T N E S E R P E T CA I F I T IK R E C & AWID SOLTYS S D : D E L R IC T A R A W
? E IF L R U O E IS T R E V D A E W O D HOW After watching a movie and thinking about the death of one of the main characters, I just went into a pensive state and wrote the poem. It's about what life really means and what the point of it is when we go through the motions, the same things continue to reoccur and it isn't positive. Nevertheless, from my perspective my faith keeps me going that all I am going through now is leading me towards fulfilling Gods plan for me and although the present situation may not pose positive prospects, it’s all for the greater good. In our student community, I believe students becoming aware of this would enable them to have a better approach to exams as
they would see it as a stepping stone to their success. Being asked to do my poem at the awards evening was a very good opportunity and I looked forward to performing my poem to my friends who used to attend the sixth form. Prior to my performance, I was incredibly nervous and wanted it to just be over and done with. As I finished the poem I felt relieved as I could relax and enjoy the rest of the evening without having to worry.
which made up my year group and there were many different talents, personalities and people. To be selected to receive the award as the Most Outstanding Contribution to school life is an award I am grateful for. I would like to thank all the teachers which enabled me to be the young man I am today and also my parents who have helped me along this journey.
There weren't a lot of people who received awards and I was delighted to be part of the minority. 180 was the number
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LIVING RAINFOREST Year 4 enjoyed a fascinating trip to the Living Rainforest this term and experienced the weird, wonderful (and sometimes scary!) creatures that inhabit this environment. Zakaria had an interesting encounter with a winged warrior… Z: We got to see many, many lizards and I got a butterfly on my back. No offense but I’m now scared of butterflies now. It was so creepy and giant, he was at least 7cm. I’m sure it was poisonous too! Isma – Daisy continued: ‘It actually said ‘Do Not Touch The Butterflies’ on the sign, that’s why he got scared.’
Isma – Daisy had her own fears to contend with that day… She told us: ‘I was very scared of the plant that is an omnivore and eats bees. I thought it would eat my finger if I touched it. When the bee comes it stretches out and grabs it with its face and swallows the bee down and I don’t know what happens to it after that.’ Zakaria thinks he knows: ‘There is a poison inside the plant and it has the bee there until it dies, it strangles it and takes its blood and heart out, then the body comes out somewhere else in the plant.’ There were some unexpected features on the creatures too…
Zakaria was once again intrigued by the hunting habits of the animals. ‘There was a fish that could breathe over water for 24 hours and it doesn’t have any back legs or front legs and has a long tail. What I found very interesting was the way it killed. He gets a mouthful of water, shoots it at its victim or a bug, then he sucks back the water and the bug comes with it!’
Isma-Daisy thought: ‘The Water Monitor was so cool, it was a yellow and black lizard that can breathe in water.’
Zakaria: ‘I didn’t try to touch it, it came on me by itself and it was blue in the wings and black on the body.’
BRENT MUSEUM BRINGS THE PAST TO LIFE FOR OUR VERY MODERN STUDENTS
MY FIRST STORY Year 3 got the chance to stretch their imaginations – and become published authors! – when set the challenge of writing an original story for their age group. The best ones were included in a 2016 anthology called ‘My First Story’. Not bad for 7 & 8 year olds! Thomas explained his lost and found plot: ‘My story was about children who lived in a house near the woods, it was a girl and a boy who liked to swing on ropes. There was a jungle not far away. When they first saw it they were so excited so they went to visit it. They saw a big snake but then got lost and a lion rescued them and took them back safely home. I was thinking I wanted to do a story where someone was rescued so I looked at pictures and thought about what could happen. Lareb took us to another galaxy far, far away with her extra-terrestrial tale… ‘My story was about a little girl going into space. She heard some sounds at her window and woke up and saw an alien climbing onto her window. He took her into the spaceship and then they went all the way to Mars! The spaceship broke down, but there were some other friendly aliens that came and fixed the ship. She told her whole family but they didn’t believe her so she started drawing pictures and showed them and her friends and they believed her then. She continued: I like writing because it’s fun and I get to use my imagination. I think I will write about giants next.’
Year 5 had an opportunity to see just how much life has changed in their local area when they took a trip to the Brent Museum… Temi explained: ‘It was really fun and my favourite part was when we looked at the exhibition and the motorcycle. They were showing things from the past and from now, so there was a bicycle and then a motorbike. It tells you about the history of Brent where we go to school. The talking phones were really cool, you press a button and then it speaks to you and tells you information. It told us about a Christmas where a boy was at war.’ Shivam was super interested in our most famous local landmark: ‘I liked the workshop where we saw how Wembley Stadium had changed. It’s changed a lot; first it was just like trees and then a park and they were trying to build the stadium with two towers. After that, they knocked it down to make the arch we have now. I like it more now because last time in the olden days they had old buildings that didn’t look very good! Asma was a fan of both the talking phone and the fact that people back then had lots of time for tea: ‘The talking phone was where you had to dial the number and someone would pick up and it was kind of creepy as you didn’t realize it would talk! There was a huge, amazing board that showed Brent in the past and The Plague and the Stone Age – there were china tea sets and really posh Victorian things. Now we don’t have tea time and we don’t have super posh things. I would like to have teas now if it was hot chocolate in the winter!’
PRIMARY NEWS
E R Y A F S A CHRISTM
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REMEMBRANCE DAY ARTICLE: AMIRAH AL-RASHADI
Remembrance Day is an occasion on which we as British citizens respect the sacrifices made by the heroes of the past. They are the reason that we can live the way we want. To respect this day as a community and school we spent two minutes in silence. It was two minutes that carries our respects for an eternity. Our preparation for Remembrance Day was not only on the day but continued beforehand in the form of poppy sales. The money from this would be used to help soldiers who have encountered tragic events in their military career. Ms. Mason said: ‘I think it’s a very moving time of the year and an important opportunity to pay our respects to those who have given so much.’ We as a community share the same opinion on this matter and we will continue to display our gratitude in the years to come.
BATTLE OF THE SOMME ARTICLE: VEESHA GAJJAR
Ark celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Battle of The Somme through inspirational assemblies and Trips. Year 10 historians visited the WW1 battlefields in Belgium. Rares Maglan laid a wreath to British WW1 soldiers. “To be part of a remembrance ceremony was an honour,” he said. They have since given a presentation to every Year 9 form on what they learnt from the trip. Mr Coward believed “It's been an excellent and important opportunity for Ark Academy students.”
During Remembrance Week, each year had an assembly on the Battle of the Somme. From this, we learnt that it’s important that we remember this battle as it was a huge sacrifice soldiers made for our future. When hearing the soldiers' accounts of the war, Annie Mark in Year 11 said: “It’s a significant event as there are still people putting their lives before ours." We understood that we should be thankful for what they do for us every day.
IP R T Y R O T S I H 8 R A E Y RT U O C N O T P M A H O T
This term, a group of Year 8 students had the chance to go on a history trip to see Henry VIII’s palace in Hampton Court. Hamza said: “It was interesting to see how Henry VIII lived”. The trip was organised by Mr. Coward, who told us “the students explored primary evidence and analysed the impact of religious changes on England.
L-RASHADI ARTICLE: AMIRAH A
In the Tudor period, religion was a key issue: the country was Catholic then Protestant, then went back to Catholic, and the rollercoaster of religious changes led to widespread confusion and turmoil. By visiting one of the key locations where religious and political decisions were made, students were really able to engage with the ideas of the Tudor religious rollercoaster.” Kevin said that he enjoys learning about history because “You can see how the world became how it is today”. Hamza also added that he thought that the trip was “a great opportunity that will help me in history. I’d like to thank my teachers for giving me the opportunity to go”.
RIP T D L E I F E L T T A B WW1 Year 10 history buffs, Rares and Emil, attended a remembrance ceremony in Belgium which takes place every single night of the year at 8pm. It is attended by buglers from the Ypres Volunteer Fire Brigade, who sound the ‘Last Post’ before a minute’s silence is held to reflect on the sacrifice of those lost. Rares explained: ‘It was amazing to be the ambassador for us because I know a lot of people don’t get the chance to visit Menin Gate and the other WW1 monuments.’ Classmate Emil Ganea was fascinated by the trenches, the Commonwealth War Grave sites of the Thiepval Memorial in the Somme, France and grateful for the insight they provided. ‘When we saw the battlefields, the graves and were shown the trenches, we got a new perspective. It’s not just a hole where they fight, it’s their home, they had to live there. It shows the hardships and the challenges they had to face. We saw some that were blown up and there were ones that had been rebuilt as the perfect versions. There was lots of strategy and thought behind the trenches.’ Rares spoke of the present unstable world climate and the need for us as a human race to work together to avoid further conflict. ‘I think we need to be careful and learn from the past as we could right now be on the brink of war but we could stop the spark of war igniting now if we think of ourselves as brothers and sisters and we should not have imaginary borders that prevent us from being a united and global community.’
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E S U O H R E T IN
N O I T I T E P M ART CO
ARTICLE: SARA ARYBOU
This year’s Art competition was the best one yet – showcasing so much talent and introducing a new sense of teamwork not normally exhibited in previous years. The theme was UNITY. Everyone did fantastically with Socrates being the winning house! Their piece included a Helen Keller quote: ‘Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much’ with a dove drawn in the centre, designed by Parbes in Year 10. Initially everyone submitted a piece which Mr Paton and Ms McHaffie judged. They then finally selected and enlarged the best designs from each house. The competition included a live drawing event at lunchtime that got everyone involved and cheering their houses on. It was a spectacular event! Art Technician Ms McHaffie explained: ‘This year’s competition was all about mass participation. We wanted as many people involved as possible, so the Art team decided that the task should be easily achievable. It was about taking part, having fun and trying something new. The idea for the black line drawing came from looking at what was trending now, like adult colouring books. We researched current street artists that worked in a similar style. We couldn’t have been happier with the live drawing event. It was wonderful to have the whole school involved.’ Parbes from Year 10, who designed the winning piece felt ‘happy that I was part of the Art competition. My design is a mix of mehndi and henna design put together, combined with a Primary entry. The live event was fun to see. Socrates really came together as a team.’
REAL PEOPLE READ SCI-FI EDITION On Wednesday 23rd November 2016, Ark’s own Learning Centre hosted ‘Real People Read’, a Sci-fi and Fantasy event which allowed pupils to enjoy watching their teachers reading different openings and extracts from their favourite Sci-fi and Fantasy novels. The event encourages pupils to learn about the different genres of reading and share their passion with others. ‘Real People Read’ has been an increasingly popular event within the academy, so it was no surprise that this year, we had a range of teachers who participated including Ms Pitkin, Mr Oxby, Mr Suttle, Ms Etherton and many more. Mr Vick, one of our librarians commented, “It was really fun and enjoyable. I particularly liked Ms Pitkin’s reading of the Harry Potter chapter where Harry received an invisibility cloak for Christmas. Also, when reading from Terry Pratchett novels, Mr Suttle did some wonderful impressions!” Both teachers and pupils alike enjoyed the event and many of us look forward to what ‘real people’ will be ‘reading’ next year.
Here at Ark, we pride ourselves on our mathematics skills so the annual Gelosia competition is a wonderful way of incorporating our maths skills with teamwork!
GELOSIA CHALLENGE ARTICLE: SARA ARYBOU
The competition was held in our brand new 6th Form hall where a group from each house went head to head in a Wild West Gelosia Competition. They initially had to run, two at a time, to the middle of the hall to collect the problem and then ran to the end of the hall to solve it. It was a fun event because it brought everyone together, and not to mention Mr Ding’s love for songs from the Wild West! Ms Butler, Head of Socrates House, said: ‘Socrates did a good job in the Gelosia competition. We are really proud of the participation from all our students! This helped us win!’
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Y12 MENTORING Y7 HOW TO USE ICT AT ARK ACADEMY... Year 12 have recently been working with the Year 7s to develop their online skills. These sessions have been split into 3 categories: Writing Emails appropriately, working with Microsoft Word and finally, making professional PowerPoints. This experience has been useful to the younger students as they have gained important knowledge, will help them be successful and efficient how they communicate, and present their work. Jebir Tahori said: “It was really fun to learn how to use our emails". By taking part in these sessions, Iman said: “It will definitely be beneficial to them in the future. Having these skills will allow them to be more professional at a younger age"
LONDO N FOOT BALl J OURNE Year 10 students have YS excelled during a collaboration with media initiative London Football Journeys to create a video about their community.
Not only this, but they said to have “understood what teachers go through” as working with the Year 7s enabled them to have an idea of what the teachers experience on a daily basis. It also improved their ability to communicate and explain which is, no doubt, an important skill outside of education.
ARTIC LE: VE ESHA GAJJA R
Ali said: ‘The Oakland school visited us and we did ice breaking exercises and played football. It’s not just about football, but meeting new people in other areas, being sociable.’ Mr Nugent said: ‘It was a great opportunity for the children to see other parts of London and expel any stereotypes they have. Bisharo excelled and we saw a different side of her. By the end she was able to develop her communication skills. Ali, Bisharo and Youssef made excellent speeches at the ceremony about how they’ve benefitted from LFJ and why they would recommend it. Ali said: ‘Speaking in front of teachers is easy but speaking in front of kids the same age as you is hard. Now you have to stand on stage and talk to a room full of people, so I was scared!’
ARTICLE: MISS MINTERN
YEAR 9 RUGBY PLAYERS A sports kit. Much like our school uniform it is a representation of what that team signifies and what their core values are. Luana, Chrissanne, Faith and Belissa who are all part of the girl’s rugby team here at Ark all had the amazing opportunity spend the day at Twickenham with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on the 'All Schools' program deciding how they wanted it to look. A kit is the first impression you get from a team therefore they wanted it to illustrate the team’s values such as being competitive. Luana: 'We decided to do black and pink because of our school colours. The black represents power and we used pink because girls wear pink shirts as school uniform. We also used the halo image to symbolise this on the back of the shirts.’The girls described it as “an amazing experience” but also “scary” as they were taking control and had to be spokespeople for the team.
ARTICLE: AMIRAH AL-RASHID
TURN DESIGNERS TO CREATE SHIRTS!
SIXTH FORM PULLOUT
AUTUMN 2016
On Thursday 10th November, our Sixth Form opened its doors to the prospective Year 11 students looking to join us next year. The evening was fabulous highlighting just how much our community has on offer. One of our Year 13 students Aliyah who helped the Philosophy department shine commented ‘It was fantastic seeing others interested in the subject just as much as I am, and to share this passion is truly a privilege.’ We’d like to thank everyone for representing our school so well!
ARTICLE: DAWID SOLTYSIK
ARK DIPLOMA MARKED AS A SUCCESS! ARTICLE: SHANNON LEE The Ark Diploma is an internal award designed to allow Sixth Form students to earn rewards for participation in extracurricular societies and assignments. This is meant to give them the opportunity to work as tutors to help primary students and introduce them to new positions of leadership. This year, 62% of pupils completed the Ark Diploma with 12% being awarded the Gold Diploma for roles that demonstrated more leadership. Some Sixth Form students, including Balal and Dhruv, committed to working with younger year groups within the Ark Academy Secondary and Primary school. Maaryah described the experience: “It was really interesting because I was given the opportunity to work with the primary school and I found it very rewarding to be able to tutor a Primary School student and watch her progress significantly over the year. I also enjoyed being able to run my own drama enrichment as I was able to do something I enjoyed whilst passing my passion onto younger students.” Overall, many students described the diploma is being extremely rewarding and as a result would encourage their peers to embark on the experience in the future. The Ark Diploma was developed by Mr Sawbridge, our Assistant Principal in Sixth Form in charge of Progression & UCAS.
SIXTH FORM PAGES PAGE 11
What a superb first term it has been! It is an absolute pleasure to be back in the thick of it and working closely with both Year 12 and Year 13 in the autumn term. Many started the year with noble intentions and it has been great to see these follow through for most, who continue to put in the hours and the work needed to succeed. Year 12’s have been impressive with how they have made the ‘step up’ from GCSE to A Level and have enjoyed some of the huge array of opportunities on offer to help broaden their own C.V.’s and build a reputable personal statement for next year’s UCAS application. Many have taken advantage of the opportunities on offer and gotten involved in everything from the Biology trip to a Surgical Skills Workshop at the Hunterian Museum. The maths ‘Digits’ Society is as popular as ever and the historians were busy at the Museum of London Docklands. Our Professional Pathways pupils have been everywhere from Stamford Bridge to Barclays head office and have been most impressive when representing the school as mature young adults keen to advance themselves and learn from every experience. I would strongly encourage all Year 12s to get involved in the opportunities presented to them thorough their subjects and beyond. Year 13’s on the other hand have begun to enjoy the ‘lasts’ of their Ark careers – their last Christmas assembly, their last Charity week, their last Gelosia Off! It is hard to believe that they have come so far and no more so when we see the celebration stars of university offers appear on the 3rd floor. These stars display the offers the students have received and I might add they are very impressive offers indeed! 52 in total (at the time of writing) with 5 unconditional and 5 securing interviews for Cambridge. I am sure you will join me in congratulating those pupils who have done so well, so far, and offer encouragement to those who have yet to submit their UCAS forms. It is indeed heartwarming and just a little nostalgic to see our founder cohort at the cusp of university life but it is vitally important now to turn those offers into realities. I wish you all a very pleasant, peaceful and productive Christmas,
Tracey Keane Director of Ark Academy Sixth Form
THE FINAL MATC
It was a season of adjustment for our Sixth Form team as they overcame e problems to enjoy success on the field. Read on for manager Mr Cumberb report of their most important game to date…
‘It was a Clash of the Titans game. We were playing last year’s champions, Academy from Northolt, so the odds weren’t in our favour but we still pus conceded a goal in the first five minutes which wasn’t great but after that t within our control and we dictated the play. Dante equalized with a superb running from the halfway line all the way through and burying the ball in t was scintillating and mind blowing!
The opposition manager and myself had agreed on no extra time so at the went straight into penalties – a heart in your mouth moment! Sadly we en missing two penalties and were genuinely devastated.
The overall season however was phenomenal. The boys really impressed m camaraderie, they slowly grew together as a team as the year wore on and amazing goals from Ali, Kyle and Jake. Beyond that, they started playing as mature young adults and that really impressed me. They even warmed to that they told me would never work and now they all die to play it every w
I have to thank Hashim, my fantastic assistant manager who has done all o sent the emails about training and matches, sets up the pitch every week a great job.’
GOODBYE MR C We challenge you to read this and not get a little emotional – thanks for everything Mr Cumberbatch!
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OUR FIRST EVER HEAD BOY & HEAD GIRL... Clement:
Maaryah:
Ark Academy has provided me with the skills, knowledge and opportunities to develop and this position allows me to show my immense gratitude to the school. Being Ark Academy's first ever Head Boy is a great pleasure and honour and I hold with great responsibility and pride the opportunity to be able to inspire, represent and voice the needs of such a welcoming, caring and hardworking community.
Being announced as Ark Academy's first Head Girl has so far been a privilege. I always saw it as a very prestigious role and it was role I wanted since entering school in Year 7. To finally have gained enough experience to achieve this role is truly amazing. My efforts in my previous leadership roles have paid off and have taught me all the necessary skills I need to be a successful head girl.
I want to study Philosophy and Global Sustainable Development at the University of Warwick with the intention of working for the United Nations one day and being Head Boy and taking opportunities both inside of school and outside of school will support my journey reaching my goal.
As Head Girl I had the opportunity to speak at the GCSE and AS presentation evening in front of students, teachers, parents and Head of Ofsted. It was a daunting experience but I hope I am challenged further with such experiences. Moreover, I hope to not only build my own character but to also help create alongside Mrs Smith and Head Boy Clement a better Ark Academy for the students.
SIXTH FORM PAGES PAGE 13
MATHEMATICIANS GO TO UCL UNIVERSITY... Some of our Year 11 and 12 Ark students participated in an exciting programme at UCL about the wonders of mathematics. One of the Year 11 participants, Laura, said: ‘It was very educational and interesting to see how maths applies in many different situations.’ This trip questioned and explained many mathematical phenomena which would have otherwise been unnoticed by us but were discovered by the reasoning of mathematics such as the ‘hidden connections’ in the world. This was a lecture that happened in this programme and was loved by all of our students, it highlighted the connections that can be only be explained by maths. The programme also included the secret of code breaking, how to be a data scientist? and the value of maths. There are many people who are intrigued by these phenomena. Mr Triantafilidis, the teacher that accompanied our students said that ‘student behaviour was incredible, very mature, responsible and enthusiastic. The day was very well organised and had interesting speakers that offered a great insight into mathematics beyond the curriculum.’
YEAR 11 PASSING THE GOOD ADVICE
Year 11 form class Descartes, opened their doors for a Year 7 form to ensure they felt welcomed. Each Year 11 took in a younger Year 7 and shared some words of wisdom on the change from primary education to the big, bad and daunting high school. A lot of the youngers really appreciated the experience and the advice that they were given from their buddies. Safiya and Riyad (both members of Descartes tutor group) explained: ‘We felt that it was very inspiring and we could tell that our advice really influenced them to work harder in school.’ In particular, Riyad commented: ‘I wish that I had someone older than me that I could turn to for helpful advice and that I could go to if I was in trouble and needed help.’ Clearly, it was a very successful event!
ON...
KINDNESS DAY SIXTH FORM STYLE SIXTH FORMERS PLAY ‘HIDE & SEEK’
On Friday 18th November, as part of our first ever Sixth Form Kindness Day, 40 sixth formers took part in numerous events, the most popular of which was the indoor game of hide ‘n’ seek. Students hid around the main building and (quite embarrassingly); I was the first to be found lamely hiding behind a table in a Geography classroom. The ‘found’ hiders then joined Aruneya in her quest to ‘Find ‘Em All!’ The most creative hiders were Katja and Aliyah who hid in a cupboard! Nathalia and Nuradean made us all laugh at their weak attempt at ‘hiding’ in an even smaller cupboard. The least creative hider – cough, cough Alex - “hid” sitting on a table. The Ultimate Hiders and winners of the whole game: Rasiq and Mahek, who hid back stage in the main hall; they were left unfound for two whole hours! Rasiq said: "I think Mahek and I should get a prize for being the best at hiding and winning the game!" Karolina said: "It was great! We raised money whilst having fun." Furthermore, we brought canned food and long-life drinks for Sufra Community Food Bank and Kitchen which aims to support disadvantaged families suffering food poverty in the local area. Heartbreakingly, more than 29,000 children in North West London are living in severe poverty and may go to bed hungry. Perhaps for next year’s Kindness Day a game of indoor ‘Tag’ would be great?!
TEACHERS CAN HAVE FUN TOO! CRYSTAL MAZE CHALLENGE From mind boggling challenges and ingenious puzzles to locker limits and mental Maths frustration, Ark staff did a super job solving the Crystal Maze games for Curie’s charity event. Immense fun was had by all and it was worth it to see Mr Ding in a leopard print jacket! Congratilations to the Red team on their deserved win and thanks to Miss Whittaker and Miss McHaffie for creating the games & the awesome dome. The night was called ‘one of the best events Ark has ever done’ and rightly so. Roll on next year’s maze!
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LAW SOCIETY
ARTICLE: KHATRA HASSAN
On Friday the 18th November a selection of Year 11 students had the chance to visit The Law Society located in Chancery Lane. The group comprised of both prospective lawyers and those who were still unsure – but collectively they agreed that the experience was eye-opening, informative and fun! The event started with an inspirational speech from a lawyer. She began by counteracting this wide-held belief that lawyers can only be truly successful when white, middle-aged and rich. She stressed that this was not the case and used her story, to fill the room of students with hope, awe and a renewed sense of self-belief. We then split up into groups for the ‘Case Study’ session. We were led by lawyers and we all had discussions about the different case studies and the possible legal claims and arguments that could be made. Simane described the activity as ‘thought provoking and interesting. I was put in the position to think like a lawyer and that was fun’. During lunch we were able to
ask the many lawyers present about their experiences, to gain a better understanding of the profession. This was incredibly informative and engaging as the lawyers were clearly experienced and able to share vast and useful knowledge. My favourite question asked was ‘Is being a lawyer as glamourous as it seems?’ and sadly the answer was ‘No, it is not like the tv show ‘Suits’! The highlight of the event however was definitely the mock trial where we had to make the difficult choice of deciding whether ‘Daddy Bear was guilty of assaulting Goldilocks’. We also got to be jurors of the case. It was great to watch the experience lawyers present their arguments in an effective and adroit manner. Jazmin said: ‘I found the mock trial engaging and funny. It was definitely my favourite part of the day.’
HALLOWEEN
FUNDRAISING ARTICLE: VEESHA GAJJAR Celebrating Halloween this year at Ark Academy was not only an opportunity to daringly dress up and impress each other, but a time to raise money through fun activities. A delicious cake sale took place, where homemade bakes were sold to many, many students as ever! A raffle took place, a non-school uniform day and saving the best to last, the fancy dress disco after school. Alicia in Year 9 said: "The cake sale was really nice and the disco was a nice time to de-stress after school and help fundraise!" This event was loved by many of our school community even the Year 12s and 13s who were kindly supervising through prefect duties. Dhruv Gajjar said: “It was really nice to see the younger years get involved with the school's fundraising events like we did not long ago." A whopping £1350 was raised through all these activities and most importantly it was "fun, fun, fun had by all" - well said by Miss Keane.
STUDENT VIEW US ELECTION SSAN ARTICLE: KHATRA HA After 12 months of incredibly controversial campaigning, Donald Trump was officially declared the President-Elect of America. Despite prior polls suggesting this outcome was impossible, the Republican nominee shocked the world with a comfortable win against Hillary Clinton. Now in all honesty, Donald Trump ran a campaign full of hate, bigotry and petty cruelty and I personally, would have much preferred the first female president as opposed to a president who believes ‘climate Change is just a hoax made up by China’. However, on a more hopeful note there are vital things we can learn from Trump’s win (and on a related note, Brexit) that can help us create more progressive and united societies in the
future. For example, Trump appealed to the working- class, which was a crucial factor in his win. This is because the working-class people especially were tired of the establishment and corporate politics, that they found just stood by and looked on as their standard of living continued to decline. Hillary Clinton and her affiliation with lobbyists embodied everything the American people were sick of. Whereas, Trump and his self-funded campaign showed people that his riches meant he could not be ‘bought’. This was a great contributor as to why Trump won as working class people were dissatisfied with a stagnant America run by the Establishment and were desperate for change. Another thing Trump realised and we must also, is this idea that we cannot
shy away from real issues that people are genuinely afraid of e.g. immigration and terrorism. Clinton’s refusal to speak on issues that many found deeply concerning, attracted people to Trump, as although extreme, he was the only candidate willing to recognise the fears of the electorate and admit to a problem. Overall, instead of dwelling on an admittedly disappointing result as we lead on to the future I think we must take the views of the working-class more seriously, improve their standard of living and recognise issues that are real for them. Otherwise, as the past year has proved, we end up with angry backlashes resulting in Trump and Brexit.
US ELECTION SPECIAL
BARRY GARDINER MP VISITS YEAR 13 AND IGNITES HEATED DEBATE
Year 13 enjoyed a visit from Brent North Labour MP Barry Gardiner, whose passion for politics sparked a heated debate with our students. The MPs socialist values were at odds with sixth former Sahil’s conservative views, which provoked an interesting discussion – this ended with Sahil admitting: ‘I got roasted!’ An impressed Aliyah said: ‘Barry was intense and he really made us think about why we support certain philosophies.’ Mr Gardiner also gave the students an insight into how the ideologies we study have manifested themselves into the current political parties and spoke of his post as shadow minister for Energy and Climate Change. Marwa commented: ‘It was really interesting speaking to him as he knew a lot about what we were studying and we got to question him about his role in parliament.’ A big thank you to Barry Gardiner for taking the time to come in and provide our students with political food for thought!
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SPORT AUTUMN 2016 BUMPER EDITION FOND FAREWELL
Women in Rugby Event
N TO MR EDMONDSO Mr Edmondson has been a fantastic and committed PE teacher ever since he arrived. Without him we would not have forged partnerships with the Jason Roberts Foundation with whom we have hosted such events as Women in Sport and Women in Rugby. Nor would we have expanded our community and sporting links to include the beautiful island of Grenada. His dedication to Inclusive Sports events ensured that every single student could benefit from all PE has to offer - not to mention have a fun time while doing it! From Sports Day to Charity Week to endless football & rugby matches, (plus an unforgettable turn in Strictly Come Dancing!) means his legacy is secure. Goodbye and good luck sir, we will miss you.
OSEI ARTICLE: MATTHEW
The array of exciting sport opportunities our school provides is astonishing, however a particular “Women in Rugby” event shone out amongst the pupils of Year 9. A selection of girls participated in a competitive tag rugby event as part of International Day of the Girl celebrations. They competed in a tournament against various schools such as Uxbridge, Capital City Academy, Alperton and Michaela with a total of 145 girls taking to the pitch . Our Ark Angels came out on top winning two of their three matches and drawing one which secured them the overall win. “We drew the first game which only made us work harder in the next two as we always strive to win.” said Raushana. Faith commented: ‘The game atmosphere was good, only girls were allowed to watch – this makes it more close knit and more supportive.’ Cerys told us: ‘Taking part in Women in Rugby is really fun and you get to be aggressive on the pitch which you obviously can’t do in school. It makes you stronger as a young woman and encourages you all to work more as a team because you get hurt, win and lose together.’ Luana wants to thank Paul Quinn from Kilburn Cosmos as he inspires us to do our best along with Mr Edmondson, Mr Ding, Miss Rafferty and MISS KEANE!!’
YEAR 7 NETBALL SMASH IT!
The Year 7 netball team had a successful debut in their first ever Brent Netball Tournament, coming in at an impressive 2nd place despite the odds. The girls managed to dominate their way through before facing tougher opposition in Preston Manor and JFS. Elidona explained the match against Preston was “surprisingly close” as in previous matches our netball team defeated them with ease. She also scored the winning goal to place Ark in the final against an intimidating JFS team.
final goal”. After heroic efforts, Ark were unfortunately defeated and lost to JFS in the final.
The first game was dictated by our netball team who thrashed JFS 4-0, however things changed for the worse in the second game when JFS took their revenge and beat Ark by a mere 2-1 to even out the wins. In the decider, the match went to golden goal, which as described by Jessica is when “the winner of the match is decided by whoever scores the
Their coach, Miss Jones said: “The netball squad showed great determination and teamwork in the Brent competition. Well done girls you did really well!” Congratulations to Xhesika, Elidona, Dana, Iman, Fareedah, Christina, Kylah and Jessica. We hope next year will prove even more successful and the girls can return as champions.
Our Year 8 football team was on a quest to continue their successful start to their football careers at Ark Academy. And they did just that! They showcased their tremendous talents by winning 2 out of 3 of their games to start the season. It all began with a tightly fought match against Crest Academy which ended in a 1-1 draw due to a fantastic goal by Hasan Jama. However, this painful draw only motivated our young driven team which resulted in a 6-4 win against their rivals Kingsbury High in their next game. Complacency is something that our students completely disregard and they carried on their firepower to their next game against the Swaminaryan School which they won 17-0! "Hasan scored the most goals. His tactical play was a huge factor in this win" said the centre midfielder Emmanuel Wamala when reciting the memorable volley from outside the box by Hasan.
However, this proved to be a memorable experience for the girls. Dana and Jessica outlined how much they enjoyed being part of the team. Elidona, who played goal-attack and scored a remarkable 5 goals, said she: “likes netball because it really captivates her and makes her forget anything else that is happening outside the match”.
YEAR 8 FOOTBALL
When reflecting on their performance, centre midfielder Danyaal Karimi stated "We performed well as a team and when we faced adversity, we came together as a team to overcome them". Such wise words shows the determination of our Year 8 football team and only leaves the rest of Ark Academy with confidence that they are going to bring more glory to our school in future years!
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. .. D E U IN T N O C S T R SPO YEAR 11 FOOTBALL This year’s football season has been as great as usual; most recently we have been playing our best brand of team football, led by our leading scorer Wiktor Wachala. We played against the teams Claremont, Alperton and Crest Academy with our most recent victory against Kingsbury 7-2. The midfielders have been great with a number of goals and assists between them and defenders have been solid making it hard for opponents to score. New players have been added to the mix and have really taken to their role in the squad, contributing to excellent results as we are now 3-1 in matches. William Opoku is in his first season playing right back and is having a great time. “So far I enjoy playing with these guys, I’ve really felt welcomed” Lennox Howard has also had a great season, causing havoc in the midfield alongside Captain David Muja. Lennox said he “loves this season and I’m really proud of the 3 goals I have scored, it’s the most I’ve scored so far in a season”.
YEAR 8 & 9 FRIENDLY BASKETBALL MATCHES Basketball season isn’t into full swing yet, but the Year 9 boys have so far had a friendly against the Haydon school which they won 36-6 and Year 8 beat the same school 50-3. The matches were of high intensity, the boys were sweating up a storm and having loads of fun. Joshua Hermit (pictured) made his basketball debut for Year 8, whilst Adam Farah scored almost half the Ark points. Mr Jarrett new coach for the Year 9s said: ‘The matches were good, with great signs for the future.” The boys made massive improvements throughout the game, playing even better basketball as a team towards the end. They used their size length and skill to their advantage. Shout out to Chuck for his dominant performance as he snatched rebounds from the other team and scored points against contact with great concentration along with Jonathan, Daneshay, & Isaac helping to seal the deal. Daneshay’s thoughts on the game were that: ‘We could have shot with a bit more accuracy.’ Jonathan stated that: “We ran hard & played aggressive defence and we are even working on an even complex set that involves traps.” Continuing an impressive pattern of success, the Year 9 team are looking forward to playing in the Nationals this year, and are still undefeated in over two years of basketball. Great work guys! Can’t wait to see how you all play when the regular season starts. TATE ARTICLE: MATTHEW-DAVID
One stand out goal was when one of our defenders played a long through ball to Wiktor further up the pitch into the box. Showing off his acrobatic skills and finesse he pulled off a 360® chip into the goal while the opposing goal keeper stood frozen as the ball sailed over his head. Our coach Mr Foster stated: “The one thing that stands out is the positivity amongst the team.” As we continue on this season I hope we can maintain this effort and continue to win games! ARTICLE: MATTHEW-DAVID TATE
YEAR 8 NETBALL
TATE ARTICLE: MATTHEW-DAVID
This year the Year 8 girls Netball team have played a number of games this season and tournaments, against the likeness of Crest Academy, Preston Manor & JFS. Every one of these matches were close and in particular “JFS were really hard, they were good competition” said Eimaan. Most recently the netball squad participated in a tournament on 24th November, narrowly losing in the semi-finals to Preston Manor (by golden goal!) However, the girls continued to battle for the 3rd spot, finally getting the win against Convent, also by golden goal. (Persistence at its finest!) Players Mya, Faith, Hadeal and Eimaan helped pull out the victory. Faith commented: “From last year to this year we’ve improved a lot!” Ms Addison thought the girls worked really hard and were good at listening to feedback and implementing this into their games. “Sometimes we feel like we lack confidence but we know we can do it”, Hadeal feels.
YEAR 9 RUGBY
Keep up the hard work girls and good luck with the rest of your season!
ARTICLE: MATTHEW OSEI
A successful season for the Year 9 Rugby girls ended with a fantastic victory which is hopefully a benchmark for things to come. Their coach Mr Edmondson said: ‘These young ladies were absolutely phenomenal. The victory was in no small part due to their fierce tackling and willingness to run the ball in to contact. The opposition were a good team, but our prowess was too much for them.’ They beat Capital City Academy by an astonishing 60 points holding the other team to no points. Faith, the leading scorer of the game demonstrated the upmost Civitas and Participation –even advising the opposition on how to tackle her! - and encouraged the rest of her teammates to do the same. Congratulations to the talented athletes: Inva, Jaliqa, Faith, Bellecia, Amy, Chrisanne, Cerys, Aurianna, Alex, Luana, Raushana, Christianne and Bathseba.
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OUR FIRST RETIRING MEMBER OF STAFF...
CONGRATULATIONS DR LEMON It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our wonderful data manager Dr Hilarie Lemon – one of our founding members of staff and our first retiree. Her dedication to every aspect of school life has been phenomenal. She has enriched our community with her fantastic spirit, unwavering love of dressing up at every charity event and of course, her passion for dancing! Kingswood will not be the same without you! From all the staff and students here at Ark Academy – we wish you all the very best for your retirement and hope you enjoy every moment of it. We will miss you!
CONTACT US PAY US A VISIT: Ark Academy Forty Avenue, London, HA9 9JR PHONE: 020 8385 4370 EMAIL: info@arkacademy.org WEB: www.arkacademy.org
EDITED & DESIGNED BY: Dawid Soltysik PHOTOGRAPHY THANKS TO: Emma Franklin & Christina Donnellan ARTICLES THANKS TO: Susan Mintern & Y11 Prefects