ARK ACADEMY’S OFFICIAL MAGAZINE Issue #6 Summer Term 2012
Special Olympic Edition: How Ark Academy is celebrating the London 2012 Olympics through living its values every day. 1
Dear Parents/Carers In this year of the Olympics – I think we can safely say that our sporting successes have surpassed all expectations and as I write there are more honours to be contested – so fingers crossed! We have also just finished the wettest secondary sports day I have ever know (the pictures of primary sports day in sunshine tell a very different story). The competition was excellent – some real athletes in the making – the support of the house teams demonstrated respect and friendship and we all showed true grit, determination and courage to get through such difficult conditions and with absolutely no moaning. I was very proud! So this day demonstrated to me, like the Olympics, was much more than just a sporting competition and the Olympic ideals of respect, excellence, friendship, courage, determination, inspiration and equality really are truly reflected by our four core values. This Olympic edition of the CIVITAS magazine highlights these ideals in a very tangible Ark Academy way. Of course we will all have our own specific memories of the year, from the courage and friendship shown by Year 7 on the Kingswood trip, to the excellence and inspiration of our first music concert in Ark. Unfortunately, my memory is selective, so I really welcome the final CIVITAS edition of 2011/2012 reminding us of all that has happened throughout the year and the sheer extent of engagement by our pupils. May I take this opportunity to thank all parents for your support over the year, like any family we need to stick together through the good times and difficult times. We have all worked (pupils and staff) very hard to build Ark Academy into a great learning institution. So we all need a good rest now, but please encourage your son/daughter to read as much as they can over the summer (which I hope will start next week) and I look forward to seeing Year 8 and 9 in September refreshed and ready to show how keen they are to learn and be CIVITAS! Yours sincerely
Delia Smith Principal
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Dear parents and carers, This academic year has been the best ever – as our community along with experience and confidence grows we are ready to take on greater challenges and opportunities. Our confidence is of course derived from our continued and increasing successes. From an academic perspective our children has outstripped national expectations again but by a greater margin this year . In KS1 SATs national tests 95 % of our children were at or above national expectation in reading; 90% were ar or above national expectation in writing and 95 % were at or above national expectation in maths . All our other year groups displayed similar attainment. Our reputation for academic excellence is increasingly renowned. We have received visits from the Department for Education and Ofsted as part of their research into standards and best practice. We have also been at the centre of a pioneering new maths teaching methodology know a Maths Mastery which is now being rolled out by a government backed programme. But we also do different things and have lots of fun in the doing so ! Here are just a sample of the best: Our very first overnight stay at PGL for year 3, our amazing Christmas concerts, our sensational Science week when my mysterious murder was investigated; World Book Day, World Maths Day, our incredible sponsored bounce when we raised over £4,000 for Children in Need; our Easter Bonnet parade; our design an Olympic torch competition, we were winners of the Spelling Bee competition and our year 3 and 1 children won their sports day ; we won our first competitive football match ; we celebrated the Diamond Jubilee with a Kings and Queens day and who will ever forget our amazing class assemblies and our end of year productions - and much more... I must thank all the staff who work tirelessly and with energy and creativity to make all this possible . As the benchmark increases this year they simply rise to the challenge . You are amazing and everyday I am reminded of just how special you all are. But of course our children and parents are stars too – and what shining lights ! The children at Ark make our jibs so much easier and more fun – they both challenge us and motivate us to do the job well. Finally , we have to blame the parents ;0 ). Thank you to everyone of you for your unstinting support in helping us to achieve our vision. Have a wonderful break and hopefully some long awaited sunshine !
Jacqueline Steele Primary Headteacher 3
Olympic Special
With Civitas at our core, respect is something that comes easy to us here at Ark Academy - and there have been plenty of opportunities over the year for us to demonstrate it.
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June was the perfect time for us to demonstrate respect - and an action packed set of activities that included the nursery visiting London on a sightseeing tour, afternoon tea, crown making, a Union Jack themed non-uniform day and a special assembly reflecting on the life and work of the queen. Some students were lucky enough to be chosen to go to the Queen’s Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. Throughout students demonstrated their respect for the queen and her work for our country.
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“For most, it was their first concert and definitely one eve rybody would remember. We we re very lucky and got a good space with loads of room to dance. Some stud ents later spotted themselves on TV ! Not only were th e performers great, but the fireworks were awesome! It was a brilliant night.� Kassia Tavares, 8D oyle
The house debating competition took place in May and respect was a key element of the day as students learn to argue in the right format. It was a great day of debating and eventually Plato were crowned the winners - well done to Cullen, Clement, Haider and Isabella. 5
Olympic Special Excellence comes easy to us at Ark Academy and every field we demonstrate the highest quality performances. From the sporting field, to the stage and from spelling bees to singing, our students are reaching the top, striving to be the best and wowing audiences.
Five students who took part in the MyStreet filming project were shortlisted for and eventually won a filming prize for their ‘Documentary in a Day’. Well done to the boys who won and a special thanks to the people from MyStreet who helped make it all possible. 6
Olympic Special Fabulous end of year productions from our primary students.
Year 3 Spelling Bee champions celebrate their fantastic success.
On Wednesday 11th July, Ark Secondary put on its first annual music concert. It was a wonderful night of excellent music making from the students. Special thanks must go to Mrs Cooke for all her hard work. 7
Olympic Special Friendship is a key Olympic value because of all the people from all around the world coming together for one cause. That is just like Ark Academy - people from all walks of life working together for learning and, of course, CIVITAS.
Students from the nursery hosted a mothers and fathers day event and have also worked with the local community to help decorate the nursery playground.
The nursery childre n, staff, parents and mem bers from LLoyds Bank were busy planning a new outdoor lea rning space for the children. The theme of the project was the ‘2 012 Olympics’. The shed was pain ted with multi cultural images of boys and girls from around the w orld, a floral display and a mura l of Wembley Stadium. There w as lots of paint work on the groun d including: a new bike track, a caterpillar number line, and an alphabet snail. A growing patch and a flower area was a dded for the children to plant fr uits and vegetables. Zara McLeod, Nurs
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ery Manager
Olympic Special We can’t reflect on how we demonstrate friendship at Ark Academy without remembering Kingswood in the spring term - a great demonstration of friendship and CIVITAS that helped bind our year 7s together.
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Olympic Special Students across the academy have demonstrated courage on many occasions throughout the year -we’re never afraid to take on a challenge or have a new experiences, including the Modern Foreign Languages trip to Boulogne in France where students got to try out their French, picture below.
Andrei Bogdan and Rosheni Navaneetharajah represented Ark Academy’s maths department in Cambridge at the Prince’s Teaching Institute conference. They spoke in front of hundreds of guests including politicians, definitely demonstrating courage. 10
Olympic Special
Our debating team continues to do well demonstrating courage in the face of much older students, finishing 19th out 107 schools nationally in the Urban Debate League and second in the Ark School’s Debating Competion. Well done to all the Ark Debaters.
Trailblazers was a fantastic opportunity for 25 students in year 7 to show courage - they slept under canvass, built fires, cooked their own dinner and did many outdoor activities. Thanks to Mr Chandler and the Geography department for organising this fantastic adventure. 11
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It wouldn’t be a proper Olympic issue without highlighting our amazing sporting success this year. If last year’s weren’t goo enough we’ve racked up success in almost every field—a true reflection of how the students how used the Olympic and Paralympic values to shape their lives at the school.
Shannae Campbell Summer Bywater Kaftun Mohamed Kayleigh Nightingale Lorena Bala Jamelia Campbell Tia Brogan Ugne Plekaviciute Alice Muratovic Shanel Edwards
Team Members: Summer Bywater Lorena Bala Alisha Clarke Kaftun Mohamed Shannae Campbell RESULTS: Ark vs. JFS.....................10-4 win Ark vs. Preston Manor..12-8 win And the Final was..... Ark vs. Capital City Academy.....4-0 Win
The final was Ark vs. Capital City Academy with a 22-0 win
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Amongst the successes (and they barely fit on the page!) are:
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Antwayne Plummer is the Year 8 Brent Cross-Country champion Both Year 7 Girls & Boys teams are Brent Basketball Champions Both Year 8 Girls & Boys teams are Brent Basketball Champions Sesan Russell selected to represent Brent at Under-18 Basketball Year 7 & 8 teams are Ark Schools Indoor Rowing Champions Year 8 Girls Netball team are Brent Champions Kanice Pyne, Kiara Taylor, Michaela Johnson and Terique Dover-Llyod are selected for Brent’s London Youth Games Netball team Our Boys and Girls U13 Handball teams qualified for the U13 National final – the girls team came third! Year 8 Girls Athletics team are Brent Champions Year 7 Boys Athletics team are Brent Champions Year 7 Girls Athletics team are 2nd in the Brent Championship Michaela Johnson & Terique Dover-Lloyd are selected for Brent’s London Youth Games Athletics Team. Mason Morrison selected for the Brent Athletics Squad for the Middlesex Championships (Discus Throw) Year 7 and 8 Girls & Boys Athletics Team are Ark Schools Champions Year 7 boys badminton team placed 2nd in Brent Championships Year 3 had first football match – a win! We won ARK Schools primary athletics competition
Particular thanks must go to all the staff at Ark Academy who helped make this possible, particularly Mr. O’Carroll and Miss Addison. 13
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Throughout the year, students have shown determination in every field - constantly persisting to be their very best. A key area where students show determination—and excellence—is in maths. And who wouldn’t at Ark Academy where maths is so much fun?! This year we’ve had human chess, bake sales, gelosia races, and even our very own Ark Casino (pictured left) where the maths team transformed themselves into croupiers for the day.
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As well as our wonderful music concert, Ark Academy wowed audiences when they performed an original song ‘I’m On My Way’ at the world renowned Barbican Centre in central London as part of the ARK Music Gala. It was a wonderful night of talent.
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Students have been both inspired by others and inspired each other throughout the year—whether that be trips to universities, trips to the Olympic site, visits from pearly kings, MPs, Astronauts or having their work displayed at the Royal Academy of Art.
Meeting an astronaut!
Barry Gardener MP
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Olympic Special Students recently displayed art at the Royal Academy thanks to the help of Kids Company and Miss Patel. The show, Childhood, is completely free and is truly wonderful. A real inspiration!
Design and Technology Week was a hit again this year - with design challenges including a very special Olympic themed cake baking challenge and a stylish fashion show where students paraded hats they had designed and created in just an hour down the catwalk. Thank you to Miss Hicks, Miss Falconer and Miss Whittaker. 17
Olympic Special We’re so lucky at Ark Academy that our community is so diverse and multi-cultural. Treating everyone with respect and kindness comes naturally to us. Whether is be holding an International Day like primary did very recently, or speaking at a North London Citizens and helping raise awareness of inequality or issues in our community, our students always demonstrate a passion for equality and CIVITAS.
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We also strive to make all our students equal and we support out students to achieve and learn equally. Students for whom English is a second language have worked hard to help not just themselves but others too, for example secondary pupils wrote a song in their home language (and sang this with a Romanian parent) and two Romanian Nursery children to the rest of the class. An Arabic child also had support talking about what he was doing on the computer. 19
From the Parents’ Association 2011/2012 Fund-Raising Target Congratulations on a fantastic year! Together with the help of staff and parent volunteers, we will have raised over £5600! (Once all expected income-streams are received); very nearly reaching our target of £6000. THANK YOU for attending and participating throughout the year at the Winter Fayre (Winter term), Bingo night (Spring term), International Day (Summer Term), raffles and the musical concerts. Thanks also to all the parents that have taken the time to attend our monthly meetings and have contributed to discussions and ideas this year, helping to shape our scope and direction. Of course, all monies raised will be used to supplement Ark's limited enrichment budget, ensuring continued educational school trips, clubs, and enrichment classes for our children. What Next? At the start of the new academic year, next term the Parents Association will hold an Annual General Meeting or AGM to elect a new committee. All parents and guardians are eligible for nomination to any committee role: Co-Chair (Secondary) Co-Chair (Primary) Treasurer Secretary Events Co-ordinator Fundraising Co-ordinator More information regarding the AGM and the nomination process will be communicated in September. What Now? There are a number of ways in which you can help raise funds right now for the Academy: Join www.TheGivingMachine.co.uk today: Every time you shop online with over 350 retailers, by visiting www.TheGivingMachine.co.uk first, you enable retailers to make donations to Ark students, at no cost to you. Check if your employer has a Match Funding scheme: This is a scheme where employers donate or “match” event fundraising totals. Contact us via email: Arkpta@gmail.com and join the Parents’ Association email list to receive updates, meeting notifications and meeting minutes or to discuss how you can help. We appreciate your feedback. Have a great Summer break! Regards, Mrs Lundy, Adeola, Paula and Sam. 20
Sports Day
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Sports Day
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Award Winners AWARD
WINNERS
Sports 1/2 colours GIRLS
Lorena Bala, Ugne Plkavicuite; Shannae Campbell; Kaftun Mohammed, Summer Bywater, Terique Dover-Llyod, Zonjay Bernard, Kanice Pyne, Sara Elbana, Michaela Johnson, Kiara Taylor, Sian Peart, Andrea Melchor
Sports 1/2 colours BOYS
Javaun Francis, Amaree Rumble, Brandon Pischedda, Dontae Temple, Zion Suffren, Kyle Edwards, John Seraphin Whyte, Antwayne Plummer, Fabien Reid, Alfie Gordon, Jayden Hutchinson, Shakyle Melford
Sportswomen of the year
Year 7: Shannae Campbell Year 8: Andrea Melchor
Sportsmen of the Year
Year 7: Cameron Russell Year 8: John Seraphin Whyte
Reading
Khadijah Blackwood; Amaree Rumble Aysha Lohan, Dawid Soltysik
Year 7 Most Progress by Subject
Dania Haider Abedali (English); Aleksej Burakov (Maths); Jack Dolling (Science); Renesha Holland (History); Ugne Plekaviciute (Geography); Agnieszka Jerzykowska (RE); Tiarna Lewis (Art); Ashvin Negi (D&T); Luckasz Smolen (Drama); D’arcy Yambasu (Spanish); Summer Bywater (French); Nathan Cowell (Music); Dania Haider Abedali (PE)
Year 8 Most Progress by subject
Kelsea O’Leary (English); Clement Owusu (Maths); Maximillian Mays (Science); Lauryn Nylander-Aggrey (Histroy)l; Kelsea O’Leary (Geography); Richard Dos Santos Casagrande (RE); Moustafa Mahmoud (Art); Mansi Sagar (D&T); Maximillian Mays (Drama); Mariama Sekloawu (Spanish); Sara Elbana (French); Natasha Chauhan (Music); Kiara Taylor (PE); Kieran Harten (PE)
Year 7 Academic Excellence
Jada Eduvie (English—6B); Daniel Hunt (Maths—6A); Hammad Ahmed (Science—7C); Minali Alwis (History—6B); Ugne Plekaviciute (Geography—6C); Minali Alwis (RE—7B); Janvi Pandya (Art—5C); Agnieszka Jerzykowska (D&T—6A); Minali Alwis (Drama —5B); Alleyah Siddiqi (French—4A); Samuel Tito (Spanish 4B); Shanel Edwards (Music-5B); Cameron Russell (PE—5B)
Year 8 Academic Excellence
Jai Stewart (English—7A); John Seraphin-Whyte (Maths—8C); Jai Stewart (7A—Science); Andrei Bogdan (History—7C); Amanda Nzekwue (Geography—7C); Olivia Sekloawu (Art— 6C); Zia Ashbourne (6A—D&T); Ella Clarke (Drama—6A); Kassia Tavares (French—5B); Shanyce Rodney Bates (Spanish—5B) Aysha Lohan (Music—7B) Sesan Russell (PE—5A); Terique Dover-Lloyd (PE -5B)
Most Commendations Inva Danshki Civitas Badge Dawid Soltysik - Tiffany Vasquez - Iman Ahmadi Maghaddam - Cherisse Pacquette
At the time of going to press points for the house cup were still being counted—but well done to Curie, Newton, Plato and Socrates for a great year. 23
Everyone here at Ark Academy would like to thank you for all your support throughout the year and wish you a wonderful Olympic and Paralympic summer!
Edited, designed and compiled by John Kirkman Photography and production by Emma Franklin With thanks to Pushpa Hirani (Printing) Extra special thanks to Alison Bodha for being our Primary Paparazzi 24