Civitas Magazine - Autumn 2017

The Civitas ARK ACADEMY’S OFFICIAL MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2017

LANGUAGE WITHOUT LIMITS

Dear Parents, We draw to the close of 2017 and a very hectic term with many events and highlights.

Our theme for the Civitas is about the power of words, “Language without limits”.

Our ability to communicate really effectively, to explain and to write expressively and accurately, are key skills that affect our participation in our careers and our lives in general.

Literacy is civitas as our pledge so emphatically states…

“I will fulfil my potential as a student and a citizen” This rolls off the tongue but these words can only be truly achieved by literate and articulate people which we all wish our children to be.

We have worked hard on many fronts to push the power of words and of course reading as reflected in some of our articles and will, of course, continue to do so in the New Year.

Meanwhile a heavy exam season draws to a close and we are pleased that we were able to meet so many parents on the 18th December to review your child’s progress.

We are now all looking forward to a restful Christmas break and the inspiration and impetus that comes with the start of a New Year, Happy Christmas

Delia Smith OBE Principal of Ark Academy

LANGUAGE WITHOUT LIMITS When a pupil, with a puzzled look on the face, says to me “you know what I mean Sir, I just don’t have the words” I know we all have work to do.

The pupil must learn the words – I can’t be his or her walking dictionary forever!

spoken. Understanding Tier 2 words opens up a whole universe of learning; not understanding them shuts everything down. A little while ago, we realised some of our pupils needed help learning Tier 2 words.

There are words that unlock learning – which give our pupils and children access to the curriculum, to exams, to the adult world of work and responsibility. These are “Tier 2 words” – words that we often see written down but not

Our answer is to give our pupils lists of the most useful Tier 2 words and give opportunity in lesson, in tutor time and around the school and at home, to learn them. We then test how much our pupils have learnt and celebrate success. It’s a

LEXIA At Ark Academy, we know that strong literacy is essential to our students’ success in school, in examinations, and in society.

If students learn to read well then they can read to learn. As a result, we provide extended literacy support for all Year 7 students on Mondays. Most students work on Lexia, a reading computer program that provides practice in reading skills. “Working on Lexia means I feel far more confident knowing how to vocalize words” Patricia Rengifo Y7

the book, and the knowledge we learn, sticks in our long term memories.” The Year 10 student leaders are getting excellent leadership experience that will contribute to their Ark Diploma.

“Running book club has been a really enjoyable experience and I really enjoy being able to support the younger students. Moreover, I know that running book club is helping develop my own leadership ability as I now feel more confident managing groups of people.” Bipanshu Sharma Y10

The Year 8 students who are continuing to work on Lexia are finding that it is really boosting their confidence in literacy.

All Year 7 and 8 students can access Lexia from home by visiting www.lexialearning.com and signing in using their normal login details. They can also download the Lexia app on Apple or Android devices.

Students should be spending at least one hour per week on Lexia at home to ensure they make good progress.

Research shows that people who regularly read become more intelligent, more creative and less stressed so getting your child into the habit of reading is the best way to support their long-term success and well-being.

In addition, some Year 7 and 8 students are taking part in small group reading coordinated by Pupil Support and the Additional English department.

The very strongest readers in Year 7 are being stretched by participating in the Book Clubs in Schools programme, delivered by Year 10 students.

Aniisa Abdi in Y7 said “it’s really helpful. They help us break up our reading to check for understanding. This means that

Mr Coward, Lexia coordinator

straight forward, no nonsense approach. We have started with Year 7s and Year 10s – they have booklets full of words, definitions and how to learn them – and we will spread this approach to other year groups.

We do this because without these words, how could our pupils understand the exams, the job applications, the world of work which they will face?

Words like analysis; assessment; assume; authority; contract; distribution; economic; financial; function; identified; legislation; policy; theory; variable are

written in many exams, in many work documents, in many job applications. Learning these words and others like them and using them accurately – it makes all the difference.

The pupils with the biggest vocabulary – 1,000s of words above the average - and who excel in school, also read the most. We learn most words by simply reading them and learning to understand them.

Just 10 minutes of concentrated reading every day for a year exposes us to 1.2 million more

words – a 100% increase in what we would read otherwise.

Parents, it makes a massive difference if your child reads at home. It doesn’t need to be Nobel Prize winning literature!

Just a book or magazine or website suitable for age.

In school, we are doing all we can to help our pupils thrive on language without limits.

Mr Sawbridge (Vice Principal)

GRAMMAR MATTERS Grammar matters. It affects our written communication and confidence in sharing our views.

It diminishes students’ life chances when applying in an ever-competitive job, apprenticeship and University market. For three generations ‘literacy’ has been taught as an aside in an English classroom.

Here at ARK Academy, students are part of a grammar revolution to equip them for the real world. Over 9 months into setting up the channel our channel has 1000 subscribers and over 108,000 views as our students push to succeed.

By logging onto Miss Hanna Loves Grammar on YouTube you can find short videos that teach grammatical rules. In class, Year 7 and 8 are tested with their knowledge of the videos they watch and complete grammar tests in the Do Now of each lesson. Feedback from focus groups is clear – grammar helps

YEAR 7 1.

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AGYAKO, NAMIR AL HAMDANY, HIBE HAKEEM, SANA KHAN, AYESHA ABDELATTI, HANA MADNI, MUNIER SGHAIER, SARRA DALEY, KAYDEN MOHAMUD, HANA RAMAXHIKU,

MEHMEDALI MALIK, MISHA PRANJIVAN, RAHUL ABDILAAHI, MOHAMED O’LEARY, RYAN

us feel more confident with our reading, writing and comprehension skills.

This year is part of a pilot.

Working on making videos that best suit us as a school and are user friendly is helped by Team English reflecting on the strengths and struggles with me and their classes. The next phase is to broaden my sample and refine the ideas on the videos. By launching this on YouTube though there are over 130 countries that have viewed our homework model!

Knowledge like this needs to be shared so that all learners can gain from the teaching and tools.

Well done to the following students (below) for exceptional outcomes so far in their grammar tests. Each of these students got 80% or more in their most recent end of cycle test. The grammarians will be announced at the end of Term.

Ms Hanna

YEAR 8 15. RENGIFO, 28. KHORSHEED,

PATRICIA RIDHWAN 16. ABDI, ANIISA 29. MOOSA, ZAHRA 17. SOKOLNICKI, 30. ABBAS, MOHAMED NATASHA 31. GONDALIA, DIYA 18. FOSTER, DRU 32. ASIM, AALIYAH 19. ANGHELESCU, 33. HAMRAZ, ROMAN DAIANA 34. SRIVASTAVA, 20. ZESHAN, AFSA NITYA 21. CAMERON, JADE 35. PUDUR, MEGHANA 22. FEARON, THERESA 36. SHAMS, SUSUN 23. SEIFU, ABIGAIL 37. RUMENOVA, 24. AHMED, SAMAD GABRIELA 25. ZEKAGH, SELMA 38. CABADULLAHI, 26. WILLIAMS, ABIGAIL Sabrin 27. HAREZ, AYA 39. ASIM, ANEELA

1. KAUR, HARLEEN 2. SHEIKH, ZAKI 3. BUTT, IQRA 4. GREENAWAY-BROWN, ATHIYA 5. EGBUCHE, DANIELLA 6. SHAHZADI, ARJA 7. MOHAMED, IDIL 18. AHMED, WASIL 8. POPALZAI, ZALLA 19. SENIOR-DOMAS, SAPPHIRE 9. SARFO, DANIELA 20. GEORGIOU, KYLAH 10. PETKOV, STILIAN 21. MISAL, RISHONA 11. WALSH, CYRUS 22. SHIWANI, BAWER 12. PAKKOTTIL, RIYA 23. VIRLAN, ANA MARIA 13. BENSAR, HIND 24. TAHORI, JABIR 14. MURIEL, DYLAN 15. BOUTARFA, FATIMA ITS LANGUAGE WITHOUT LIM 16. OJOH, TYRIQ 17. KAMBERI, XHESIKA 3

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We started this year off with a gloriumptious bang celebrating Roald Dahl day with our first Real People Read. Year 7 students were treated to a lunchtime dedicated to storytelling from our fantastic teacher volunteers, who treated us to extracts from their favourite Roald Dahl books.

Favourites included Miss Owen’s rendition of ‘The witches’, Miss Boyd’s exciting ‘Matilda’, Mr Cheetam’s ‘BFG’ and of course Mrs Bowley’s ‘James and the giant peach’.

LIBRARY The excitement continued as we celebrated National Poetry Day in October. We had a visit from author Julia Golding (who you might know as Joss Stirling and/or Eve Edwards, her pseudonyms), who inspired years 7-10 with creative writing workshops. Zahra in year 7 said

“we were so lucky to be able to take part in this and meet a real life famous author!” Julia was on hand during break and lunchtime to sign copies of her books and talk to students about her journey to becoming a writer.

She also had the much coveted role of being a judge for our annual poetry slam – one of the highlights of the academic year! Expertly compered by Milola Adelekan, with a little help from his friends, Elliot Howard and Cameron Russell, this year’s slam saw over 30 students from years 7 to 13 take part in a fiercely fought and highly impressive competition. There were many excellent pieces, not only from seasoned performers, but also from students who had never slammed in front of an audience before, and the judges faced a difficult task in choosing the winners. Topics covered a diverse range, including family, politics, bullying, kindness and loneliness, and the high standards seen were a testament to the creative talent that we have here at Ark Academy.

The final results were as follows: 1st- Bathsheba Fesehazion-Mahray (Y10) & Ronni Cuanang (Y9) 2nd- Emmanuel Wamala (Y9) 3rd- Omari Williams (Y9) & Yasmin Mohamed (Y8) 4th- Hana Abdelatti (Y7) & Zina Verkaria (Y7) Sixth form winners: 1st- Kamil Hamma 2nd- Laila Saklaoui An enormous congratulations to everyone who performed, especially to the winners, and many thanks to all staff involved and of course our exceptional comperes.

The audience were also treated to a performance of Milola’s latest inspirational spoken word offering, the impressive ‘Delayed Gratification’.

S W E N Y R Later in the term, 11 year 8s were lucky enough to hear the inspirational author, Alex Wheatle, (2016 winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize) talk at Wimbledon BookFest. He spoke openly and passionately about how writing had helped him to overcome his traumatic start in life, living in care from the age of 3 and becoming involved in gang crime in his teens. Every single student was completely enthralled by his words, and many have since started reading their signed copies of his book, ‘Crongton Knights’ (also available in the library).

Throughout the term years 7 and 8 supplemented their English curriculum with regular practise of their language

Mrs Brandman

abilities via the hit YouTube channel ‘Miss Hanna Loves Grammar’. The channel was created by Head of English Miss Hanna, and this term saw the channel’s subscriber numbers soar. So it was no surprise that years 7 and 8 leapt at the opportunity to show off their linguistic prowess in Ark’s first ever ‘Gram Slam’ house competition! The event was hosted by Mr Robinson and Miss Hanna herself, and saw students racing to tackle a series of questions in a bid to win house points and claim the coveted title, ‘Grammarian of the term’. Following a tense ‘dead heat’ final round, Ghofran Grzeziczak and Khushi Varsani triumphed as the winners in years 7 and 8 respectively. Well done to all of this term’s keen grammarians!

A huge and heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped to make this term’s events as enjoyable, competitive and successful as they were.

LIBRARY PAGE 5

WE WILL REMEMBER Remembrance Day is a day of reflection. It allows us to remember or think about all those people who are affected by wars, both in the past and now. It allows us to think about all those people who suffer in wars all around the world. And it reminds us how important it is to work for peace.

We wear a poppy to remember those whose lives have been affected by wars and active Service.

That day is 11 November, and the fighting stopped at 11 o’clock in the morning. So at 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year we wear a poppy to think about those men and women.

1500 students fell silent at Ark Academy on Friday 10th November to respect the dead and wounded of two world wars and later conflicts. The silence ended with a moving rendition of the Last Post.

Myself, Primary Head Mr Watkins, Head Boy Milola Adelekan and deputy Head Girl Fatima Ahmed Sultan then laid wreaths at the Ark Academy memorial garden.

Mrs Smith

Remembrance Day was noted with due reverence in Primary as it was across the whole academy. Led by our Teaching Assistant, Ifeoma Arinze, we had a range of activities planned so that the children could learn about this important aspect of our heritage. Some of our children sold poppies outside at the school gates and we sold so many we had to ask the British Legion for more! Lots of children designed their own poppies to decorate the hall for our special Remembrance assembly on Thursday and we were all very proud to take part in the silence and the playing of “The Last Post”. I am especially proud of all the primary children for the mature attitude they displayed at the event. I was also pleased to be asked to lay a wreath along with Mrs Smith and our Head Boy and deputy Head Girl, yet another example of how the primary and the secondary schools form part of the whole academy with a shared culture, shared ethos and shared values.

Mr Watkins

Emil and I visited a wide range of different memorials, all illustrating a different aspect of remembrance. We visited places such as Tyne Cot, Passchendaele and Menin Gate.

The places did not just differ in location, but also in their layouts and the way the soldiers were remembered.

It was really interesting to also take a look at and visit not just British WW1 Memorials but also French and German memorials and cemeteries. All of the places had a common theme, remembering the dead, regardless of nationality or allegiance. All cemeteries were well maintained and organised, showing a high degree of respect by the people of the nations whom these soldier died for. Some graves also proudly displayed the red poppy, the symbol of remembrance, put there by the descendants of the deceased or by random strangers, whom wanted to pay their respects for the fallen guardians of our peace.

Visiting all these places made me feel quite emotional.

Many monuments and cemeteries were massive in size, covering the slopes of the hills of France and Belgium. The sheer scale of these proud monuments shows the impact of WW1. When you also take into account the fact that all these people, these individuals whose graves we visited are only a fraction of the approximately 37 million people who died in this war, that in itself makes you think even more about war itself and how we can stop it. But to stop war we must remember the fallen, the people that fought in the past, to make the world as it is today. And this act of remembrance is then put upon ourselves, the next generation, whom in turn must remember the ones who are falling in battle now, and support the people who are currently fighting for the cause of us living a peaceful life.

Rares Maglan Yr 11

This is a photograph of my Grandfather’s Uncle who was killed at Passchendaele 100 years ago. He was only 19 years old.

He had signed up to the army because he had been given a white feather by a random member of the public. The white feather was a symbol that people gave to young men as they felt that they were being a coward by not signing up and going to the war to fight for their country.

When John Mackintosh was given his feather he was only 17 years old and he signed up the following day.

Unfortunately his body was never recovered after the battle so he does not have a grave. This means that, instead of a grave, his name is written on the wall of the British cemetery for the First World War, Tyne Cot. Rares and Emil visited his name last year.

Miss Hickling

REMEMBRANCE PAGE 7

SAY STOP TO BULLYING

Dear Primary school children & parents, I would like to thank-you for such a successful first term of the year. The children have been working very hard and we are always so proud of their achievements. There have been so many highlights this term I don’t know where to begin!

We have seen a large array of various school trips and visitors to the school.

Children have been all over, from local parks to London Docklands and the Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire. Year 6 started the year off very well with their residential trip to Woodrow House. I was lucky enough to join them for silly jokes and spooky stories around the camp fire!

Everyone told us what great ambassadors for the school the pupils were and I know that it has helped build a great sense of team in the children as they step-up their preparations for the end of year SAT tests.

We have seen year 5 children turn into ancient Greeks for the day and year 4 become Vikings! We have made African masks and been visited by the Magistrates in year 6. Children across Key Stage 2 have been lucky enough to receive top-quality coaching from Premiership team Tottenham Hotspur and some children have even visited the Houses of Parliament.

I have also been very proud of the way that the whole school values the importance of Civitas. Year 1 have led by example by raising a large amount of money for the Hurricane Relief Fund in the Caribbean and – at the same time – gathering a large amount of food for the homeless with the Brent Food Bank. We also noted the solemn occasion of Remembrance and raised another large sum of money for the Royal British Legion. None of this wonderful and important work is possible without the support of all of our children and families so, from me and everyone here, thankyou for your support.

I certainly hope that the Christmas period will bring much more “fun fundraising” opportunities as we try to raise enough money for some high-quality playground equipment for our Key Stage 1 playground and I very much look forward to all of the trips, visits, experiences and achievements that the new year will surely bring.

Thank-you all and Happy Christmas.

Peter Watkins Primary Headteacher

Anti-Bullying week was launched with an assembly reinforcing the following messages: • What is bullying?

• What do bullies look like?

• Who gets bullied?

• What effect can it have?

• What is a bystander?

• What should we do about it?

Several Times On Purpose

Start Telling Other People

The pupils are well versed on ‘STOP.’ Edmond Burke “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Pupils in Key Stage 2 took it upon themselves to create informative PowerPoint presentation, songs, raps, dances and performances, all reiterating the message of anti-bullying.

Mrs Oscroft

GREEK WORKSHOP

Who would have thought that when you say ‘idol’, ‘phone’ or ’private’, you speak Ancient Greek?

A civilisation as famous for its powerful myths as it is for its philosophers, scholars, politicians and leaders has been brought to Ark Academy to enthuse the Year 5 children and to encourage them to delve deeper into the meanders of ancient history – Ancient Greece.

During the workshop, children had the opportunity to participate in the performance of the myth Medusa and Persepolis, trying on props and trying out lines that demonstrate their passion, their culture and the symbolistic behind.

From debates about Zeus and his gods and goddesses, to the Trojan War and its improbability, to Alexander the Great and the representation of Democracy, the Year 5 children travelled to a time that helped chisel the society as we know it today and returned more informed and eager to apply their newly acquired knowledge.

Ms Vlase

BLACK HISTORY MONTH October is the annual anniversary of Black History Month which provided us with a great opportunity to recognise, appreciate and celebrate our diverse communities here in Britain, the role models that are inspiring our next generation, and the rich heritage that has built the society we live in today.

The event was launched in an assembly at the beginning of the month, where pupils were taught about Black British role models who have achieved great things within their life. The individuals the children learned about were: Benjamin Zephaniah, Sir Mo Farah, Sir Lenny Henry, Dame Shirley Bassey, Mary Seacole, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Lewis Hamilton and Diane Abbott. The students learned what the person’s profession was and what they have achieved in the life, so far.

Black History Month was also celebrated in classrooms. A home learning project was set, which invited children to research their family history and present it in whichever way they which e.g. photographs, family tree, PowerPoint presentation.

A winner from each class was announced in the assembly with pupils winning a book. Two pairs of siblings won a £10 Amazon voucher each.

Mrs Oscroft

STAY AND PLAY In November, we opened up our Primary Gym for a Stay and Play session for parents and their young children. Mrs O’Carroll and I ran this successful session where families with children aged 0-3 were invited to come and play and meet other parents in our school community with young children. The event was a fabulous way for parents to engage with each other, the school and staff. Several parents commented on what a unique opportunity it was to be able to meet other parents in the school with young children.

We enjoyed playing and singing at the end of the session and are looking forward to running sessions in the future.

Mrs Harrison

YEAR 1 FOOD BANK & CHARITY DAY

As part of our topic ‘Civitas’, Year 1 have been learning all about harvest festival and charity. They decided to ask the whole school to come together and help those less fortunate in the local area and around the world. All of the Primary school was asked to come dressed in autumn colours and to bring in an item of food for the food bank, as well as £2 to help those affected by the hurricanes in North America and the earthquakes in Mexico. It was a huge success! We raised over £970 and donated 368.1kg of food to Brent Food Bank (which is enough for 516 meals!). Year 1 would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed and showed them the PRIMARY value of helping others.

Ms Burke PAGE 9

TALKING TORTOISE As part of our Talk 4 Writing lesson we have learnt the story of ‘How the Tortoise got his shell’. The hook into this lesson was to meet Miss Ryan’s tortoise, Barney.

We looked at the designs on his shell and thought about how the story explained the patterns we could see. We also considered whether or not we would like to own a tortoise. The hook also taught us a lot about the differences between tortoises and turtles!

“I thought Barneys shell was really rough and bumpy and his skin looked slimy but it was just scaly.” – Chai “I thought it was a really fun way to learn about what tortoises were really like. The lesson was really educational. I loved it!”

– Armando “I think it helped me to learn the story better as I could really imagine the birds putting Barneys shell into the pattern.” – Wafa Ms Ryan

FAB VOCAB Ark Academy Primary has had a spectacular term of learning, feasting on a whole host of new, juicy words, from Nursery right up to Year 6.

From practising pronunciation and acting it out, to word races against the teacher, we have been trying our best to deepen our understanding of new vocabulary so we can use it ourselves in our independent writing. As well as learning the definition, we have been looking at lots of examples so that we can really recognise the different meanings of a word depending on the sentence it is in.

Come into any of our classes and you will see all of our hard work across the walls (on flip chart paper of course)! If you spot us in the corridor, be sure to ask us what our key words of the week are.

Ms O’Byrne

PRIMARY PAGE 10

Dear Sixth Form students and parents, We started the year with noble intentions and asked all of our Sixth Formers to reflect on their last year of study and change just one thing in the way they studied. Something small; where they study, how they revise, who they work with; just one thing but to make a commitment to ensure they stick to that change over the course of the term. This is the perfect point to reflect – did that one change stick? Now would be a great time to look back and adjust the change or refocus our minds on it for the start of the Spring Term.

Year 12’s have been impressive with how they have made the ‘step up’ to A Level and have enjoyed some of the huge array of opportunities on offer to help broaden their own C.V.’s and personal statement for next year’s UCAS application. I am sure they all got a lot from the superb talk with Rufus Radcliffe, ITVs marketing director, and I know many have taken advantage of the opportunities on offer and gotten involved in everything from the History trip to Auschwitz to the Science trip to the Wellcome Trust. I would strongly encourage all Year 12’s 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! It is hard to believe that they have come so far and no more so when we see the Wall of Fame slowly build in the Sixth Form Hall with celebrations of university offers starting to appear. At the time of writing - 54 Year 13 students have applied to university, 50 have already received at least one offer (147 offers in total) with 32 have received at least one offer from a Russell Group university (59 Russell Group offers in total) and 7 securing interviews for Oxford or Cambridge. It is exciting and heartwarming to see our Year 13 getting ready to head off into university life but it is vitally important now to turn those offers in to realities.

With 2 weeks out of the school environment it is vital that both year groups do not let the momentum slip – Use this time wisely to clarify your knowledge of your subjects. But do take time to recharge your batteries. Bid farewell to 2017 and come back in a stronger position to face 2018.

I wish you all a very pleasant, peaceful, productive Christmas.

Tracey Keane Director of Ark Academy Sixth Form

MEET OUR NEW HEAD GIRL AND HEAD BOY

Being Head Boy has been incredibly enjoyable yet at times, overwhelming. I’ve had to get used to year 7 kids always greeting me whilst I walk down the corridors. Additionally, having to learn to juggle the role of Head Boy alongside the demands of academics has been something I have had to grasp. I have loved to participate and organize assemblies as it has given me the opportunity of expressing my ideas to younger years. It has also brought pressure upon myself to be an example to younger students especially in the areas of academic excellence. I feel the role is a great opportunity and has allowed me to develop my organization as well as my consciousness that I have an impact on those around me. I would recommend taking on the role as it enables an individual to give back to the school community in conjunction with developing essential skills which are of great aid.

Milola Adelekan - Head Boy

Being Head Girl is an experience that has been challenging but, highly enjoyable. The role has given me a lot of responsibility such as setting an example to my peers and the younger students however, I have relished taking this opportunity to be a role model that others can be inspired by. Working with teachers to deliver assemblies to the lower school was something I enjoyed the most, because it allowed me to connect with the younger students and share my experience at Ark Academy. It has also helped me develop my public speaking skills and teamwork skills, by working alongside Head Boy and our deputies.

I believe that this role allows for a person to develop not only their leadership skills but, also to give back something to the school in many ways. Therefore, I recommend that anyone with a passion for working with the teachers and the student body to make differences to our school community should grab this opportunity.

Minali Alwis- Head Girl

RM FOTS SPOR SIXTH PAGE 11

SIXTH FORMERS TAKE THE LEAD Coordinating, planning and executing the Black History Month assembly was a very eye opening experience and something I thoroughly enjoyed. Speaking about something I’m passionate about and being able to influence the way my fellow students view the importance of black lives and black excellence gave me a great deal of satisfaction and personal pride. Seeing every student in each year group assembly actively listening and paying close attention to only you was nerve-racking but amazing at the same time. I really enjoy speaking in front of the whole school and this assembly gave me another opportunity to do so.

Also, having many of the teachers who have seen me grow up from a boy into the young man who delivered that assembly, with the help of my fellow sixth formers, made the experience even more enjoyable, as I could see the proud looks on their faces whilst I was speaking and the comments they gave to us after each assembly cemented that sentiment. The sixth form team and I who delivered those assembly couldn’t have been prouder of how they went and I hope to be able to do more in the future.

In a school full of students coming from very diverse backgrounds it’s important to highlight our successes and celebrate them when possible. All students are capable of fulfilling their potential despite their backgrounds as highlighted through the individuals celebrated in the Black History Month assemblies who fulfilled their aspirations despite being oppressed as an ethnic minority.

We should all learn from this that all barriers and obstacles we face can be overcome and we are not defined by social barriers. Black history isn’t and cannot be limited to one month, however we should use this opportunity to gain more exposure to the excellence within our communities. We can gain inspiration from these powerful figures and through following their footsteps we can go on to inspire and encourage others.

Fatima Elgamri Y13

Cameron Russell Y13

Visiting Auschwitz was an emotional and surreal experience. Standing in one of the worlds biggest cemetery really explicitly shows how much impact the holocaust had on the Jewish and other communities. I can still remember walking around the second camp (there was an expansion on Auschwitz-Birkenau ) and thinking how cold I was , but I was wearing a padded coat and not the paper thin pjs that the prisoners of the camp received . I remember feeling tired as we had been walking around all day , and then realising that I had the privilege of being able to leave at the end of the day and return to a country where I was considered a citizen regardless of my ethnicity, religion or gender.A quote a rabbi said has haunted the back of my mind “You don’t really realise what the world privilege is until it’s replaced “ the words of the rabbi did not really resonate till I was back in London and I honestly realised the truth behind the rabbi’s statement .

Edil Mohamed Y12

VISIT TO AUSCHWITZ The experience was surreal: walking down the same grounds that many Jews and other minority groups also walked down.

However, we knew we could leave at any point, but the Jews 77 years ago didn’t have this luxury that we use so freely: a choice.

Suchita Rana Y12

WHO NEEDS LEBRON? 6th form v staff basketball game The annual 6th form vs staff basketball game did not disappoint. The 6th was arguably be the strongest it has ever been with some very strong additions from year 12 which have built on an already talented squad. Ark staff team managed to pull together in a 10 man squad but had some very skilful ex-players in their ranks. The game started with a high intensity, which was much more fitted for the young athletic 6th form team as they took the lead by six points going into half time. Sweat was dripping, water was being gulped and legs were giving up on the staff team bench as the 6th formers took this break to do press ups as punishment for some defensive mistakes. However, where the staff team lacked fitness and youth they had great wisdom and calmer heads as after the 3rd quarter the staff found themselves ahead by two points. Three pointers were flying in as the on looking crowd which ranged from year 7 pupils to both primary and secondary head teachers were clapping in appreciation for the talent on display.

When the final whistle was blown the staff team came out on top by 5 points 63-58 but the real winner was the money raised for the 6th form prom and the friendly atmosphere the game was played in. Well done all involved.

Mr Parkinson

RM FOTS SPOR SIXTH PAGE 13

K

This year, Ark hosted it’s very own bake-off challenge.

The contest was split into two timed rounds; the technical challenge and the show-stopper. The technical challenge tested our bakers skills in following a vague recipe to produce six uniform chocolate eclairs, with crispy golden brown pastry shells, filled to the brim with fresh cream and topped with a decadent thin layer of chocolate fondant. All teams’ eclairs were submitted for tasting anonymously to our fabulous judges (Ms Ryan and Ms Haslam). Socrates house took the lead, taking both first and second place.

1st & 2nd

1st HOUSE PAGE 14

The all exciting show stopper involved baking a two-tiered cake, with two different flavoured sponges, incorporating the theme ‘Where in the world?’, and some element of fondant modelling in the final decoration. There proved to be fierce competition, with some teams going the extra mile by adding a third layer!

Judges were amazed with the intricacy of design and creativity that went into the showstopper cakes.

The decision was tough, however our Newton sixth formers took first place due to their fantastic white chocolate, pistachio and cardamom flavoured cake and Japanese cherry blossom design.

Ms Burney

RESPECT THE ART House Art returned in spectacular fashion during the Autumn term with another opportunity to claim up to 500 house points. The school community responded to the challenge of creating a typographic artwork which responded to this year’s theme, Respect. In typical Ark participatory fashion, entries from every form within the school, joined entries from staff and Primary. The submissions were inspiringly creative and positions to the house drawing team hotly contested, with winners and runners up from every form awarded silver merits for their efforts.

Once the heads of house had selected the winning entries from each year to create their house team, they met in artistic battle. During the lunch break the teams expertly created their large scale house entry in front of the gathered crowds, expertly guided by the heads of houses. The quality of work produced this year was awe inspiring, and of such a high standard that all works produced now reside pride of place in the main hall. A whole hearted congratulations to all who participated, with a special applause to Plato house who took the gold. We can’t wait until next year to see what marvels our creative community produces.

Mr Paton

GIVE US A CLUE

4th 2nd

1st 3rd

We kicked off the year with Gelosia, using our special methods in multiplication we had a showdown at noon. With pencils instead of pistols we had a shootout to find the maddest baddest multiplier in the wild wild west (London)!

In Autumn 2 we took our literacy flair and combined it with our love for maths, bringing together crosswords, numeracy and problem

solving. Each house had two teams representing them, one team were given the clues for the across numbers whilst the other team only had the down clues. This was no mean feat as many of the clues relied upon the other team already having an answer.

You couldn’t answer 8 down until you had 6 across, but then you needed 4 down to solve for 6 across! Then to add to the frenzy the teams could only communicate through a teacher who had to run from end to end passing on messages!”

Ms Russell

DRAMA

A selected group of year 10 Performing Arts students presented their performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the ArtsDepot Theatre. Students excelled themselves with excellent performances in a professional theatre. This was a huge challenge for year 10 students to perform such a high energy tragedy with commitment and professionalism.

Students researched the costumes and made the set themselves as well as acting in the play, learning the Shakespearean language is no easy task! The commitment and creativity by the whole cast was wonderful and it was a magical evening to celebrate with the students’ and their parents such a successful portrayal of the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake!

Miss Gatford

A selection of students from Years 10 to 13 took part in a reward trip due to their participation in form time discussions on current affairs, with a trip to the pop-up exhibition ‘The Glass Room’.

The Glass Room is a tech store with a twist: a space for reflection, experimentation and play that took a critical look at how our personal data is shaping society, as well as our selves. Pupils engaged with a group task where they were able to accurately profile an individual based on just one day’s internet browsing history. Further installations challenged the pupils to reflect on the power and intentions of global companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. Are we aware of how much they know about us? Opportunities to play with apps that can find

your identical twin (and show you their picture) to those that can read your brain waves in order to develop future artificial intelligence exposed students to the vast nature of the digital world. All pupils were provided with an 8 day digital detox kit… something I’m sure we could all do with! We were the only school in the whole country to visit The Glass Room; a privilege that the students fully made the most of.

Quote from Nkotseng Year 13 “I thought the trip to The Glass Room was insightful because it informed me about how vulnerable I am as an Internet user. For instance, it opened my eyes about how many companies are monitoring my actions online at once” Mr O’Carroll

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

The Glass Room Exhibition

SINGING AT THE PARK I took three Year 7 students- Hana, Julius and Janell to the Olympic Park to take part in an Ignite singing day. They had a wonderful time rehearsing in the morning, doing the slide down the Arcelor Mittar tower in the afternoon, then finished up by singing under the canopy at the tower to an audience. The canopy has a bell shaped roof so it was an interesting acoustic to perform under. All three were wonderfully behaved and had no fear when undertaking the slide, I was very proud of them!

Miss Sharp

DEFYING GRAVITY Wicked the Musical theatre visit

22 GCSE students from year 10 and 11 visited the Apollo Theatre in Victoria to watch “Wickedthe Musical”. The students were primarily there to watch one of the set works pieces which they will be studying as part of the course“Defying Gravity” being performed, but also to understand the context of the song within the whole musical. This song was definitely one of the highlights, as it was the last song of the first half, and featured Elphaba floating high

above the stage dressed as a witch. The stage looked incredible, the students were in awe of the musicians and performers, and everyone really enjoyed the show, which was full of many plot twists and exciting developments!

Afterwards the students were allowed to take a look in to the orchestra pit under the stage, to see where and how the music is made to accompany the performers.

Miss Sharp

THE ARTS PAGE 17

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Another brilliant start to the Football season at Ark Academy as the Year 7 Football team started with some very strong performances in the league but most importantly showing great togetherness and a positive attitude in defeat. The year 7 football enrichments are always well attended and these boys have bright Ark footballing years ahead of them. The year 8, 10 & 11 football teams picked up where they left off last year registering early wins as their seasons look very promising.

The eagerly awaited Ark Basketball is

now upon us. All Ark year groups are always very competitive in their respected basketball leagues with the current year 10 & 11 teams Brent Champions. The younger teams have it all to live up to and with the early high attendance numbers for Year 7 & 8 trails I can only imagine success could be around the corner for all Ark basketball teams. Preparations for upcoming Rugby fixtures and tournaments have begun with Year 7, 8 & 9 boys training going ahead every week.

Mr Parkinson

It has been great to see the year 7’s enthusiasm for netball grow over the Autumn Term. The girls got off to a rocky start losing their first match to Queens Park, however they came back fighting and beating Preston Manor and Wembley High. After the success of last year, the year 8 netball team have continued their winning streak and are the winners of their pool! They now go through to the winners final competition in December. The year 9 girls remain undefeated this year which is an accurate reflection on their participation levels at training and sportsmanship at fixtures. The year 11 netball girls have had an enjoyable season with an outstanding final performance on home turf. It has been great to have a 6th form team this year, who are also unbeaten and loving the matches against other schools.

We are looking forward to the rest of the games in our pools.

Miss Jones

SHOOTING STARS

The Sixth Form netball team competed in a tournament. I must admit, as team captain I could feel the nerves of my team mates. These nerves were a consequence of my team not training and never playing together; however our Sixth Form team played exceptionally well. The team was made up of 5 year 13 players (Summer-GA, Kaftun-GD, Lorena-WA, ChiomaGK and Nathalia-C) and 2 year 12 players (Prishina-GS & ShannonWD). Our first game ended in a draw, which was expected. Our second game involved an incredible turn-over. From losing 3-0 in the first half, to winning 7-3, the netball team definitely pulled it out of the bag. Shout outs to myself for scoring 7 of the winning goals, to Shannon for playing a new role & to Nathalia for her consistent successful passes into the shooting circle.

Summer Bywater Y13

NEED FOR SPEED Martin Jones, a vital member of the Williams F1 pit crew who currently hold the world record for the fastest pit stop at 1.92 seconds, came into Ark during the midst of the F1 season.

He spoke to a group of yr11 Design and Technology pupils and A Level PE and Physics students. Martin spoke to the students about how data and technology is used in the sport, showing extremely interesting figures, pieces of technology and detailed graphs. He gave us a real insight into the routines of the pit stops, what happens on race day and the build up to it and how they use data to improve their performances all around the world.

The students were engaged and inspired throughout, they were intrigued by what he was saying and asked brilliant questions. The students were fascinated by the equipment he was able to bring in and pass around the group, hopefully it will have given some of them an insight into a possible future career.

Miss Jones

SPORTS PAGE 19