ASA TODAY - Issue 25, Term 4

BBC School Report

24 Hour Fast

Notepads and microphones at the ready - it’s School Report

Students go hungry in aid of the Africa trip

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ASA TODAY

World Book Day 2014

The All Saints’ Academy Newspaper

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

Student Reporter

long book

For the t last 17 years we’ve celebratWorld Book Day, but the quesed W tion is, what is World Book Day why does it occur once a year? and w World Book Day is a yearly celebration that takes place on the first celeb Thursday in March in the United KingThurs dom and on the 23rd of April in several other countries. World Book Day is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books celeb and rreading and is marked in over 100 countries. The yearly celebration was descount ignate ignated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. The main ebrati aim oof World Book Day is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books childr

and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

This year, on the 6th March children of all ages came together to appreciate reading. Schools all across the country gave students the opportunity to dress up as book characters and take part in activities to win their own book. Here at All Saints’ Academy students and staff were also given the opportunity to dress up as a character from either a book or film giving a small donation of £1 that would go towards our All Saints’ Academy Africa mission trip to Tanzania. Ideas for dress up included: Minions, Grease, St Trinians, SpongeBob, Harry Potter, Little Red Riding Hood and many more.

Prizes were given for best dressed and students were able to win one of 54 books, which were won by getting 8/10 correct answers on quizzes related to the books.

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or a ough rge en tea la up of et a c ewis ever g C.S. L can n e.” “You uit m h to s enoug

By Demi Wheeler

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Year 11 Update e ime t eryto th v . Eo in g ay. n D ti I g arx a ok c o e ” , M .

B er edue setbookucho s w orld e i y h it f W tiv veron t ad a- Gro ac ion o f n e t o sio urns nd r ge ebra i n v l a a e t r ce tel ody oom e: A d in v d o e fin mebher r Ab anis g I r “ so ot o

By Mr Ferguson Assistant Principal Teacher of PE

With the final exams rapidly approaching most Year 11 students have been preparing hard and completing coursework. Some students have been proactive and have sought the advice and support of teachers whilst others have had to be

coerced into attending additional sessions to enhance their work and level of understanding in order to give them the best chance of securing a higher grade.

Teachers continue to offer after school sessions, as they have done all year, and are offering the above additional sessions over the Easter break.

Year 11 students should make use of these sessions and their time at home to ensure they are as prepared as they can be for their exams and their coursework is as good as it can be.

Please remember…

All year 11 students have a three month calendar and a week planning sheet which they should be using to plan out when exams are and what specific revision they will be doing on a daily basis. It is not long now until the exams will be over – so make the best use of the time left.

Student Review Day Thursday 24th April We had our best ever attendance last time. It would be great if we could beat it this time around!

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

EDITORIAL

Editor’s comments

Keep up to date with ASA

follow us on twitter

Miss Skelding

twitter bites

PR & Communications Manager Chief Editor for ASA Today I wanted to say a big thank you to all of the staff and students that contribute to the newspaper each term.

This term a lot of work has gone in to fundraising for Africa - we are so close to the target. We are about to launch raffle tickets too.

The top prize is a holiday! Make sure you ask your children about them.

It is an exciting time as ten of our Sixth Form students have been chosen to be journalists at the upcoming Cheltenham Science Festival. In April the students will be visiting the Cheltenham Festivals office to be debriefed by their press officer. Then in June they will get the opportunity to show off their skills.

I would also like to take this time to thank Mr Hamilton for his hard work on the newspaper as Editor. He is off to pastures new and we wish him all the best with his future endeavours!

ASA TODAY Editorial Team Chief Editor: Miss Skelding Editor: Mr Hamilton

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Michael Yong @Michael_Yong Well done again to @asachelt pupils on their fast for an African mission trip. Read about their experiences here http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/ Pupils-Saints-Academy-Cheltenhamfast-raise-money/story-20842558-detail/story.html …

Mr Powell Interim Principal

Flicking through these pages, you won’t fail to notice that All Saints’ Academy is spreading its wings! Service to others and social justice are at the heart of our beliefs. By reaching out into the local and international communities, our students prove themselves to be the world changers of the future.

Over the past few months, I’ve counted around sixty school trips to a huge range of destinations, including New York and Berlin. We’ve hosted visits from both neighbouring schools and from Italy and Uganda. Students have listened to survivors of the Holo-

caust and interviewed their local MP. Out of this huge range of activities, I’ve chosen a couple that sum up the ambitions of All Saints’ students.

Firstly, the students and staff involved in the Africa Trip have shown impressive creativity and determination in raising the funds needed to support a school in Tanzania. The most recent fundraiser was a sponsored twenty-four hour fast and “sleep-over”.

The spirit, humour and team-work on show from over a hundred staff and students were remarkable. It’s no wonder they are nearing their target as I write.

Another new venture is a collaboration between All Saints’ and Cheltenham Festivals. We are the only Cheltenham school to be working with the team that organises the festivals. Soon, ten All Saints’ Sixth Formers will work as journalists for the Science Festival

and their daily reports will be published in the Gloucestershire Echo.

This will be the first of many occasions when our students represent us at these prestigious events.

And on top of all this, we’re on target to achieve another jump up in our examination results in both the Sixth Form and Year Eleven. We’re also heavily over-subscribed in both Year Seven and the Sixth Form for next year. As ever, this is only achieved through students, staff, parents and governors working together. Thank you for the essential part you continue to play.

We want to know how we can keep improving too, so please get in touch, either by joining the parents’ forum, or simply by phone or email.

I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful Easter break.

All Saints’ Academy @asachelt What amazing & inspiring students we have at ASA tonight. Giving up their Friday evening, fasting for 24 hours and raising money for Africa!

Suzanne Williams @suzLD Oh to be a fly on the wall @asachelt as all those tired hungry children wake up! Rather you than me teachers! @ ASAAfrica2014 ASASportsDept @ASASportsDept Really proud of the U14 Girls Football Team today @glosschoolgames finals!

Won 2 & lost 2. #teamspirit #commitment All Saints’ Academy @asachelt We are happy as we are making money for the @ASAAfrica2014 trip via selling cakes! Thanks Durham! #NationalHappyDay pic.twitter.com/LOZHKxtqDG

Uniform Students at All Saints’ Academy are the smartest in Cheltenham and we want to thank parents again for their support in maintaining such high standards.

Three concerns which have been raised by parents are:

Address: Blaisdon Way Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL51 0WH Phone: 01242 711200 Absences: 01242 711203 Email: admin@asachelt.org www.asachelt.org www.facebook.com/asachelt www.twitter.com/asachelt www.youtube.com/asachelt

1. The need to order speciality items only through a website can be problematic.

2. Sewing or sticking House colours to blazers can be difficult and look untidy.

3. Understanding which trousers and skirts meet Academy expectations, particularly for girls, can be confusing.

Staff have worked hard with the All Saints’ Academy Parents’ Forum to agree a slightly new system from September which should address the concerns raised by parents.

From September, parents will be able to purchase all Academy uniform from Schooltogs which is located at 252 High Street, Cheltenham, GL50 3FA, telephone number 01242 523632. Parents can still purchase directly from Price and Buckland as before.

The Academy is introducing a new House tie for all students and this will be issued free of charge to all students in Years 7-10 in the Summer Term.

From September, all students will be expected to wear the standard school trousers and skirts which can be purchased from Schooltogs and is in line with other Cheltenham schools.

York’s tie

Durham’s tie

Canterbury’s tie

Westminster’s tie

Further information will be given to parents on Student Review Day but should you have any immediate query, please contact Mrs Amanda Matthews on amatthews@asachelt.org or directly on 01242 711201.

ASA AFRICA MISSION

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

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Sponsored 24 hour fast

By Kerri Skelding PR & Communications Manager

Students join in with

a song during a night

time assembly

Over 90 students took part in a 24 hour sponsored fast on Friday 21st March - Saturday 22nd March.

The fast was in aid of All Saints’ Academy’s mission trip to Africa in July.

Students stayed at school after lessons on Friday and took part in workshops such as African Art, scrapbooking, tag rugby,

Some students having a game of twister during a workshop Chantae with her soup

York’s donations

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song writing, darts etc. Students then had a night time game of hide-and-seek around the Academy. Each student wrote down a prayer or thought down before bed time.

They slept in sleeping bags on hard floors and reflected on how people live in Africa.

Saturday morning students were woken up and given more water to drink.

They then took part in more workshops to keep their minds occupied.

Jon Hopson who is going on the Africa trip said “Going to Africa is such a great opportunity, and I

Some of the African Workshop group show off their creation

Durham’s donations Students and tutors of Durham helped put on a brilliant cake sale. Mr Wright did a staff sweepstake for the horse racing, Miss Skelding held a cake raffle and Mr Griffin’s tutor group did a lucky dip.

Altogether Durham House raised £261. There are a few other fundraisers going on so the total should go up .

Thank you to all fo the students and staff that took part and helped bake, and buy the cakes on the stall.

Term 3 was York House’s turn to raise money for the Africa trip that is taking place this summer. Students and tutors were asked to put their thinking caps on and raise some money. After a fantastic effort by staff and students we raised £350. The students were fantastic and baked some amazing cakes, spent the day being silent, organised an art competition and asked staff and students to guess the number of skittles in the jar. Thank you to all of the York staff and students who took part and raised an amazing amount.

We have raised a massive

£27,378.25

couldn’t pass something like that up.”

“Fasting the last 24 hours has been really tough. A lot of it is mind over matter and if you put your mind to it, you can do it.”

After the fast students were given soup and bread to eat. Students were very eager to get in line for the soup and bread and it had high praise from the students that had fasted for 24 hours. Chantae Sellers said “I have never enjoyed soup so much before!”

Thanks to Bristol Street Motors who have donated £250!

Are you thinking of buying a new or second hand car?

Then please consider Bristol Street Motors in Cheltenham.

They will give the school £50 for every new or second hand car they sell to a staff member, parent or family member. This money will go to support the Africa project and the local children that we are visiting.

So if you do purchase a car from them, then please let them know who you are!

SPIRITUALITY

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

Chaplaincy Events

By Mrs C Spence Roman Catholic Lay Chaplain

Stations of the Cross Throughout Lent every RE class is taking part in ‘The Footsteps of Christ’ meditation, which is the Stations of the Cross, around the Academy. This is produced on an iPod and students have been walking the journey of the cross, through the spoken word, picture and music.

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What have an inflatable banana, digestive biscuits and ash got to do with each other? They are all things that the chaplaincy has been involved in.

Fairtrade Fortnight Fairtrade Fortnight, where we sold Fairtrade goods and bananas at break time and lunch time. The focus this year was on the Fairtrade sale of bananas. We also had a staff Fairtrade coffee morning

Ash Wednesday We marked the beginning of Lent – Ash Wednesday, by having a service of Holy Communion at 8.15am with the imposition of ashes, a short meditation for tutor groups at lunchtime and a short service with the imposition of ashes at 3pm.

St Patrick’s Day As is our custom nowadays, we decorated biscuits for St David’s day and St Patrick’s Day in Loaves and Fishes.

We got through about 400 biscuits!

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Twelve24 Review

By Erykah Cameron Student

On Friday 14th February a band called Twelve24 came to our school to perform and to teach us about love.

They talked to every year about how God loves us unconditionally. They also told us different stories about how they have come to know and love God. After teaching us about the different types of love that they believe in, Twelve24 told us that they were all Christians and that the lyrics in their songs reflect that.

Then they gave us a mini concert in which they performed two or three of their songs and explained how Christianity was included in all of them.

Then, to top off all of the fun, on the evening of the 14th, Twelve24 came back to our school and performed a gig. The gig was a few hours long and gave us the opportunity to enjoy music and learn more about God and love.

‘God loves us unconditionally’

Mass at All Saints’ A voluntary Mass was celebrated on Thursday 13th by Fr Paul Brandon, Parish Priest of Sacred Hearts. Students who had signed up to attend Mass came to the Chapel at 12.10pm and we began with a hymn practice, music was provided by Mr T Carroll. Students assisted in the Mass with the readings, Bidding prayers, Offertory procession and serving. Fr Paul’s Holily focused on forgiveness and penance during this season of Lent.

@asacheltRE

During the gig Josh (a member of Twelve24) asked anyone that wanted to learn more about God and Christianity to sign their name on a list. That list was then read by our RE teachers and they are now running a Alpha group for students that want to learn more about God.

‘Opportunity to learn more about God’

Born for this Performance

By Mrs C Spence Roman Catholic Lay Chaplain

On Saturday 1st March, 12 students from All Saints’ Academy together with members of St Gregory’s Youth Club took part in the Musical Production ‘Born for this’. It was staged by the Youth Ministry of Clifton Diocese at St Gregory’s Church, Cheltenham. The performance was a powerful Lenten Musical telling the Easter Story.

The day began at 9.30 when we met in the church hall and after introductions the morning was spent learning the songs and actions. After a break for lunch we moved over into St Gregory’s Church for rehearsals.

The Performance began at 7.30pm and the students played their parts with great conviction, really bringing the story alive. Canon Bosco Mc Donald spoke afterwards to the students and congratulated them on a wonderful performance. The students themselves thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

Mrs N. Austin, Head of Music and myself were in attendance all day and we were most impressed by the commitment, energy and enthusiasm shown by our students throughout.

With Thanks To: Mrs N Austin Mrs C Spence St Gregory’s Youth Club Youth Ministry Canon McDonald ‘The performance was a powerful Lenten Musical’

Students: Michael Mitchell Charlotte Randall Laura Sobiegraj Ronan Austin Declan Austin Oliver Ray Jose Lumactod Zoe Straw Julia Obrebska Tyler Goodey Erykah Cameron Callum Campbell

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

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Science Fair at All Saints’ Academy

By Mrs Cain Assistant Principal Students from Gloucestershire schools visit ASA for a special Science Fair.

ASA welcomed students from all over Gloucestershire to the Triple Science Network Science Fair. Students from ASA designed the fastest K’nex cars in the competition and came second in the speed simulator challenge!

Students from seven schools across Gloucestershire descended on ASA on Wednesday 5th March to show off their Science Investigation skills. All schools were set the challenge of designing and carrying out a “mission to mars” investigation. Ideas ranged from: rockets to get to mars, getting food on

mars, recycling water and also growing plants. Presentations were judged by teachers from different schools and judges from Bloodhound SSC. Students were judged on their presentation skills and the Science content of their investigations.

Pittville School won the best presentation and Gloucester Academy won the best Science content prizes. They take home shields for their efforts.

As well as getting over the nerves of being judged, students were also given a presentation from Bloodhound SSc - a project designing a car to go over 1000mph. The Bloodhound SSC team had brought their simulator with them and model K’Nex cars. Students took part in designing the fastest cars and seeing if they could beat “The Stig” (BBC TopGear). Sam Knight (yr 7) managed an impressive 1029mph top speed! Congratulations to all students that took part - it was an amazing day.

Dominic Faulkner Spoz returns to ASA way

the poet raps his through a lesson

By Miss Robinson Head of Drama

By Miss Hannam Head of Geography On the 13th March ASA for the second year running welcomed Dominic Faulkner to speak to year 8 Geography students. Dominic spoke to the students, who were a credit to he academy about his ‘Longest Climb’, from the shores of the Dead Sea to the summit of Mt Everest. Most of the distance was covered on bicycles along some of East Asia’s most dangerous roads. The group did experience some difficulty however upon attempting to enter Pakistan, they were challenged to a game of cricket, the deal was, if they won they could come into Pakistan! They lost! However the

group were allowed to carry on travelling and after months of cycling eventually made it to Everest base camp.

Year 8 were able to revise some of the concepts that they have been covering in Geography this year when Dominic spoke of how thin the atmosphere was at the altitude of base camp. Students were aghast to find out that at this altitude people lock themselves in their houses all winter!

Unfortunately not all of Dominic’s group made it to the summit of Everest, one group member decided to pull out before ‘The Death Zone’, so called because 1 in 10 people who climb Everest die trying.

There was time for questions at the end and many excellent questions were asked, including ‘How do you go to the toilet?’, a question many were wondering but only one student was gutsy enough to ask.

On Thursday 27th February, Spoz worked with English students inspiring and enabling them to create their own poems to battle against each in a ‘Poetry Slam’ . The winning team would then compete in the ‘Poetry Slam’ against other Gloucestershire schools at the town hall on Tuesday 25th March.

Students began the day with a performance from ‘Spoz’ which naturally encouraged students to think and consider how words can create different meaning through the poetic form. They created their own groups and team names considering language and poetic terms.

They worked on a series of rhyming words that they battled against each other enabling they to consider how words can express attitude through words. They then created poems based on objects and then leading to next stage by creating their own thought provoking poems to stun the judges. Miss Clarke said ‘it was fun and engaging and students were motivated and enthused”.

The crucial nail biting final was judged by (Mr Powell AKA Louis Walsh, Mr Clarkson AKA Simon Cowell, Mr Nicklin AKA Gary Barlow and Miss Goodall AKA the most objective and informed judge) After much deliberation from the judges the following awarded places were: 3rd - Bracket Babes 2nd - 50 Centences 1st - Rhyme Asylum

By Bethany O’Hara Student Reporter

Students really excelled themselves with the use of words, conveying messages through the poetic form exploring topical issues all the way down to fruit!!! “The students really benefitted from this experience and it was great to see students excelling using and considering language, poetic techniques, rhyme, structure and form linking with music - R.A.P!” Miss Robinson.

‘50 Centences’ are going to compete against the Gloucestershire Schools on the 25th March and we wish them luck on their final performance.

Our day with Spoz the poet was such a fun day. The best part of the day was when we got to work with whom we wanted and had to make rhyming couplets about chocolate. The hardest part of the day was when we had to pick a topic to write a poem about. After we had chosen a topic we all had to say a verse each. We did ours about bullying, which many other groups did too. The winning group had to perform in a poetry slam and compete against other schools. Sadly, my group didn’t win. The funniest thing about the dat was when we had to make up our team name to do with English or poetry. My group’s name was ‘The Poetic Penguins”.

BBC SCHOOL REPORT Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

Sweat shops!

By Emily and Erykah

In less economically developed countries across the world there are an estimated 250 million children being forced to work every day. This appalling practice is common place and we are benefiting from it.

Every time we buy a discount t-shirt, dress, pair of jeans etc we are supporting a network of sweat shops, which exploit and take advantage of those in need.

We spoke to staff and students at All Saints’ Academy in Cheltenham to hear what they think about this contentious issue.

Mr Powell, Interim Principal of All Saints’ Academy said “I have made a choice in the past that when I hear of a company or a shop that is using those kinds of practises

I don’t use them anymore.” When asked whether he agrees that Fair Trade clothes should be available, he replied “It would be good to know where they come from and that everyone is being treated fairly.”

Mr Giblin, teacher of History at All Saints’ Academy, also had his, somewhat controversial views of this topic “Should you take away the sweat shops, what would be the alternative? Many of these women and children that work there have to support their fathers and husbands and if they don’t have a husband then it’s even more important and essential that they have work there because they would have no job otherwise. If you took the sweatshops away, would they get a job elsewhere?”

“I am aware that a lot of the British high street use sweats shops.” said Miss Dunne, a teacher from the school.

During research we discovered that, surprisingly that not only cheaper but also expensive stores use sweat shops to produce their clothing/products. Converse, Ralph Lauren and DKNY to name just a few.

This gives me reason to believe that if we act together, we will be able to majorly decrease the amount of child labour. M&S for example, has its own range of Fairtrade clothing which is proven to assist poverty-stricken countries and issue the right amount to these deserving workers.

ASA’s Media Moguls Students from years 7 to 10 teamed up to produce their own news stories and digital content

Flight MH370 Is

By Olly and Eloise

On March 8th 2014, an airliner headed for Beijing was reported missing less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. It has been reported that 239 people were on board the plane and, mathematical analysis of the airliner’s final known signals showed that as the plane crashed into the sea, all passengers and pilots on board were likely to be dead.

Many theories and explanations on what actually happened to Flight MH370 have been revealed throughout the past two weeks since the plane disappeared. The only question is… How do we know how to sort out fact from fiction? One of these theories revolved around the pilot of the Malaysian plane, Zaharie Ahmad Shah. An unnamed source has commented on the breakdown of Shah’s marriage and the part that it could have played on the disappearance of the plane. According to a close friend of Shah’s, he was having relationship problems with another women at the time and was in no fit state of mind to pilot the Boeing 777. A source has claimed that the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines Jet might have hijacked the plane in a fit of anger and resentment.

Megan, a year 10 student commented on “The thing is, no one knows what has happened. There are all these rumours being thrown around and so people believe it; may be a matter of superstition, a terrorist attack or

even a matter of human error. But, still we have no proof and so no one will be correct until we have the facts.”

British and US defence chiefs refused to rule out the possibility that an act of terrorism had been the cause of the planes disappearance. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said ‘Until we recover the cockpit voice recorder, we will not know for certain’. Investigators believe someone on board may have shut off the airliner’s communications systems. They are continuing to investigate the two minute phone call that was placed to Captain Shah before the plane took off. Was this his lover? Or was it his accomplice?

Mr Ferguson of All Saints’ Academy commented on how ‘no one really knows about what happened’ and that with the technology available today, it’s amazing how ‘ little has been recovered about the missing Malaysia airliner’. He comments on how we know that the pilots of the plane were ‘fanatics’ and that a ‘greater vetting’ should be taken into account. ‘Being a pilot is an important job as it requires immense concentration. You’ve got many people on board that are relying on you to help them get to their required destination.’

We asked another ASA teacher about this horrific story. Mr Griffin said “It’s so hard to say what happened because there are so many solutions and theories.

In my view, I think the plane ran out of fuel, tried to turn back, but couldn’t make it.’

With all these new theories and information, will we ever find out what really happened to Flight MH370?

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Shakespeare still relevant?

By Gabrielle and Megan

Above: Shakespeare is considered to be one greatest writers in the English language.

We have researched about Shakespeare and people’s views on his plays and why we read them today..

We interviewed numerous people, between students and teachers from All Saints’ Academy, and they all had different views on each question. Here is some of their answers.

Firstly we interviewed Head of English Mr Nickin. Why do you think we still read Shakespeare today?

‘Because Shakespeare’s plays cover things that are important to people today. I believe that it is still relevant.

It is like a window on what Elizabethan life and language was like before.’

What do you think film makers could learn from him?

‘Shakespeare knows how to make a plot of narrative structure. He knows how to build tension in all his plays.

Whereas other film makers and writers are tied to different genres. William Shakespeare is only tied to one.’

Who do you think will be the next Shakespeare?

‘I don’t think there will be one, he is a unique writer and I don’t think anybody can get to the high status he was at.’

We took the initiative to look at Michael Gove (Education Secretary) to see his views on students learning about Shakespeare. Michael Gove thinks that Shakespeare is important in education.

To back this up Michael Gove is planning for 50,000 students to study Shakespeare.

The Educational secretary says “I was enraptured by a Shakespeare Schools Festival performance of Macbeth by a primary school at the Royal Court earlier this year.”

We want to know why we are still so interested in Shakespeare, and his contribution to our cultural heritage.

We asked one of the All Saints’ English teachers, Mr Griffin what hisviews were on Michael Gove, he said; “I

think Michael Gove is a very intelligent man, doing a difficult job. You have to decide where you stand in education, standards have been slipping for 30-35 years.

I am hugely in favour of him, because he has changed the system massively. Some people don’t like masses of change, and that’s what he did, which is how he has made enemies. But if you make little changes, they aren’t going to be noticed.”

Quotes from the man himself; William Shakespeare; ‘Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.’

‘It’s not the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.’

ASA’s Newsroom Team: Megan Roberts Eloise Taylor Emily Bond Lauren O’Shea Gabrielle Parsons Megan Dancey Jackson French Brandon Etheredge Janzeel Flores Olly Whelan Jake Baker Jay Foley Erykah Cameron Trisha Maglaqui

Springbank

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

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All Stars

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A team of dedicated students from Springbank have collaborated to create their own newspaper page.

Take a look!

Options for the future

By Millie Y6, Tia Y6, Kyle Y6, Lewis Y3 Today after break we learned all about university. One course we found particularly interested was criminology. This was because we found out how to solve crimes. Also, we found drama interesting because we found out, if you worked really hard you could become an actress or actor. You get to be in plays or on telly to learn to be confident and speak clearly.

This inspired us to go to university because you can do lots and lots of courses that will help you get a job when you’re older.

Above: The editorial team at Springbank Primary Academy after a very busy day producing their newspaper articles.

Doctors

By Liam Y3, Laila Y4, Missy and Emily Y6 Today we looked at the parts of the human body. One part that we found interesting was the human heart. We thought it was cool listening to a person’s heart. What we also found cool was when you hit a certain part of your knee if kicks up because it sends messages in your brain that make you kick. It inspired us to become doctors because being a doctor is cool!

Spa Stars

By Casey, Jane and Vicky On 13th February 2014 our school had a reach for the stars day, when we looked at different careers.

Languages: In languages we have been learning how to pronounce names of animals. In addition we made masks of animals e.g. cow, pig, cat, dog, sheep and rabbits.

Robotics: During robotics we have been programming alligator robots made from Lego. Also, a guest spoke to us and showed us his personally made robots!

To finish the day, we had an assembly, to talk about what we’ve done!

It was a truly amazing experience.

A day of Hair and Beauty

By Lauren and Sophia Below: A few of the colourful designs devised by the students.

Today at SPA our entire school took part in an epic day. Many of us personalised our hair and nails, while others took part in different activities. We painted our nails and created new looks with the stuff provided.

HOUSE ACHIEVEMENT

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

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Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

SIXTH FORM

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Raising Pupils Aspirations

By Chelsea Craven Student Reporter

STUDENTS at Springbank Primary Academy in Cheltenham had their aspirations raised and a world of possibilities opened to them Thursday 13th February at their “Reach for the Stars” event which involved workshops to inform the students about different careers, what people in that field do and how they got there.

One of the people involved was All Saints’ Academy’s one and only, Miss Skelding. Miss Skelding gave a wonder-

ful presentation about the ins and outs of the TV world and what she did to get where she is. She then had the students’ try a bit of presenting themselves, using ASA equipment she had brought with her.

She said, “I enjoyed working with the students at Springbank, they were all brilliant listeners and asked some intelligent questions about the media industry and about my job at All Saints’. There were definitely some aspiring presenters in the workshop!“ Miss Skelding did a fantastic job at helping students understand what makes a great TV Presenter. She even had a clip made by a Presenter for Gems TV Lynn Jinks who gave the students some tips

on what makes a successful presenter those included “Always smile, tone of voice, and always look at the camera.”

Not only that, but in the last workshop Miss Skelding showed the students how to write their own article for a newspaper, showing the students a range of different careers in the Media Industry and giving the students experience in writing for a school paper. I was on hand to offer any help to the pupils and found the experience really worthwhile. Raising pupils’ aspirations from a young age is a great idea. Inviting people from different industries into speak and give workshops must have given the pupils lots of ideas of which career path they may wish to take.

same conditions as the Jewish prisoners.

Ron handed around a ring, made of metal pipe, which he still wears to this day. This was given to him by a Jewish prisoner to whom he gave some sausage. He was said to have then disappeared a few weeks later. When Ron had asked about his whereabouts the

response was “kaput-the gas chamber”.

Sixth Form History student Nick Davies said “It was a great experience. You don’t get the chance to talk to a witness to some of the most terrible events in history every day. We’ve all heard stories of people who have been through this, but to be in the same room with one of

Ron Jones inspires young Law students meet historians Barrister Alex Chalk

By Jack Lane

Student Reporter

As a part of the Applied Law course, we study the legal profession; this includes solicitors, barristers and Judges and as such were able to get a visit from Alex Chalk, who is a barrister who specialises in criminal and terrorist law. He was able to give us a valuable understanding of what practicing law is and its ab-

solute nature, additionally we learned about how much dedication and hard work it takes to become a barrister and why someone should maybe choose it as a career rather than being a solicitor. We were able to understand what advocacy is like and we even saw the wig and collars a barrister wears in court. Because of this visit we gained an understanding of what a barrister’s life is like and I can say that I am sure that it has inspired some of us to become barristers. It was a great and beneficial chance for us all.

A-level History students were treated to a talk by 96-year-old Ron Jones, who came in to tell the students about his experiences during the Second World War, particularly as a prisoner of war where he was held on the Auschwitz site.

Mr Giblin invited Mr Jones, who he knew from their shared home town of Newport in South Wales.

He said “I wanted to find a way of bringing to life what they have been studying: the Holocaust and dictatorships. I thought this would be a really engaging way for the students to learn.”

Mr Jones stood and answered questions and told his story for nearly an hour, and his shocking, moving and sometimes humorous stories held the students attention.

Mr Jones told the story of being captured in Egypt and held prisoner in Italy before being sent to work in a chemical plant that was part of the notorious Auschwitz complex – although as a British prisoner of war he was not held in the

Above: A-level History student with Ron Jones after his insightful presentation.

Student goes on ‘Outward Bound’ trip

By Hannah Green Student Reporter

Outward Bound is an educational charity that seeks to provide help to young people who haven’t really found out their potential and what they really are capable in life. It provides help in many different areas such as confidence building, team working skills and skills that you wouldn’t normally be taught in school.

The Outward Bound Centre that I went to was Aberdovey which is located in Snowdonia. This centre is located right opposite the Dyfi Estuary with amazing views of this from the dorms. The centre is also located by forests, steep river gorges and jagged peaks. Many mountains surrounded this centre and many expeditions occur here too. Our group went here on the 10-14th February which has possi-

bly been the best week of this year so far.

During our Outward Bound experience, I took part in many activities.

Many of these activities challenged us and brought us out of our comfort zones.

I did activities such as trekking up and summiting a mountain which was Tara Hendra, sleeping in a cabin for a night, jumping off a jetty into the Dyfi estuary, canoeing to Picnic Island, high ropes challenge (All Aboard Tower) and many team-building activities. These activities was definitely challenging but rewarding at the same time because after completing them, you felt really good about yourself to the point that you can do things in life that scare you. These activities wanted to teach us how to set goals for ourselves and bring us out of our bubble.

Many of the people that joined us on our Outward Bound experience was people that was located all around the

Gloucestershire area. The people I met were aged 13-19. This allowed us to meet new people in our age range and boost our confidence even more by getting to know them all. On the last day when we all got back to Quedgeley in Gloucester, none of us wanted to go back to our own homes.

We all became such good friends with each other. It was sad to say goodbye.

This trip has helped all of us realise our potential, developed our confidence, self-esteem and brought us out of our comfort zones. The trip has taught me a lot of things about myself. It has taught me to be more confident in myself and it has helped me develop my self-esteem. It has also taught me better teamwork skills and confidence skills that I will use. The main skill that this trip has taught me is to set myself small, realistic goals to challenge me, not just at home, but for when I eventually head off to university too.

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

HISTORY

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Ich Bin Ein ASA students engage in a Berliner historical tour of Berlin

By Mr Giblin Teacher of History

The History department at ASA have completed our first overseas trip. The visit to Berlin was a resounding success.

Mr Simcox, Miss Cameron and I were amazed at the good manners of all the students and their attention to following instructions when walking around a very busy city (most of the time). Common sayings from the students who were on the trip was ‘do we have to leave’ and ‘when will you be running another trip to Berlin’. This just sums up how positive the feedback was from students who went.

Day 1 The trip started with a tour of the Bundestag; the centre of German government since 1894. This building has an important place in History. It was in this building that the decision was made to

go to war in 1914. It was in this building that the infamous bodyguard of the Nazi dictator Hitler, the SS, made their last stand against the Soviets. It was outside this building that the Berlin Wall ran past blocking off east from west and thus ensuring its place as a centre for protest against tyranny. Ironically, the Iron words ‘Das Deustchen Volk’ (the German people), that can be seen on the front of the building were made and placed into position by a German-Jewish family in 1894, who were later wiped out during the Holocaust of 1942 to 1945.

The tour of the Bundestag was followed up by a walking tour of the city. This continued from the famous Brandenburg Gate, past the Holocaust memorial and Soviet war memorial, which has 2,500 Soviet soldiers remains underneath and ended at Potsdam Platz Sony Centre. We then boarded a train and travelled to the TV Tower, which is famous for being the tallest skyscraper in the European Union. This allowed

Top Right: ASA students outside of the Reichstag Building.

Above: Miss Cameron showing the students a special wall.

staff and students a birds-eye view of the whole city, including the Bundestag.

Day 2 Day two started bright and early. We hopped on a train and travelled to a huge German bunker, known as a flak tower.

During the battle of Berlin in 1945, this tower housed 40,000 civilians, who were sheltering from the fighting outside. The building is literally bomb-proof. On each corner there use to stand 2 twin-linked 88mm anti-aircraft guns. These could fire up to a distance of 14km and fired with 14 tons worth of recoil; clearly an awesome feat of defensive engineering. As you can guess, the flak tower had to be tough and in fact the British tried 5 times after the war to blow it up. A true testament to German engineering is that the tower is still there!

Following our visit to the flak tower, we then descended on a guided tour under the city to look around an authentic Second World War air-raid shelter. For many students, this was a high point

of the trip as the knowledge of the tour guide as well as her humour was outstanding. We learned here that the word toilet and w/c was banned by the Nazis as both were words originating from France or the UK, two countries that German was at war with. The Nazis attempted to make the toilet German by renaming it an ‘abort’; as you can guess, it didn’t catch on. However, the use of a blue light to signify an emergency vehicle did.

Once we completed the tour of the airraid shelter, we once again got onto a train and headed to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It was here that so many people were met with cruel punishments and eventual execution.

A cruel trick by the guards was to take the cap of a prisoner and hang it on the electrified fence. If the prisoner did not get the hat he would be beaten (usually to death). If the prisoner did get his cap then he would be shot or electrocuted.

As this would have been a fairly dark

note to end the day on we travelled back into the city and had food at the fantastic Potsdam Platz Sony Centre.

Students were treated to an authentic Australian grill in Berlin that had kangaroo and crocodile on the menu!

Day 3 Our final day was just as great as the preceding two. We first travelled to the East German secret police headquarters, known simply as the Stasi. Here we saw all of the ways in which this secret police force spied on the population. The Stasi even had a camera that could take pictures through walls but was built into the door of an ordinary van. From here we allowed the students to have a break from site seeing and they went shopping for 2 hours without having the teachers around. When we were back together, the students got the chance to experience an authentic German market before boarding yet another train to the Museum of Terror and Check Point Charlie.

History ILTs: Castlemania Term 3 has once again seen some wonderful castle models created by Year 7 students. The variety of castles has been amazing, with many including detailed labels. The history department have been really impressed with the attention to detail and amount of effort which has gone into producing these ILTs. For the first time this has been part of the House Competition and the winner was HopeLouise Jones from Canterbury House who produced not just one but two castles (a motte and bailey and a concentric castle) as well as a written project. A special mention also goes to Declan Bonner’s very tasty cake castle which was thoroughly enjoyed by 7A/Hi1 class!

Above: A wooden fort by Hope-Louise Jones.

Left: Ronan Austin’s castle made entirely of cake!

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

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F o o t b a l l CCF Field Day P h o t og r a p hy

By Mr Ferguson

Assistant Principal

Year 10 District Cup Game 1 Vs Bournside (Won 2-1) Having bowed out in the third round of the national cup rather expectantly this game may have proved to be a real problem for the boys, and it did!

ASA approached the game with a sense of pride and urgency, setting out from kick off with real purpose and determination. A man of the match performance from Matt Mackowiecki proved to be the decisive difference between the two sides. Goals from Berisha and Hitchman and a solitary reply from Bournside giving All Saints’ a winning start to the campaign.

Game 2 Vs Cotswold (Lost 3-2) Complacency had set in as the side travelled to Bourton on the Water for this clash. Complaints started as the side warmed up on the very short, bobbly and muddy pitch.

Cotswold proved more clinical, scoring with all three of their attempts on goal, although their third was converted expertly by Joe O’Shea after a fantastic Brad Marks save. Following goals from Liam Dix and Jamie Lewis, Berisha had three clear chances but great goalkeeping from Cotswold kept out the equalising and possible winning goals.

Game 3 Vs Pates (Won 8-2) The reality check of the defeat in the previous game had raised a need to win both remaining games and to do so with a healthy goal difference.

With the score at 2-1 as the first half ended, the team once again required redirection, the introduction of the inform Jamie Lewis proved to be the difference.

Game 4 Vs Balcarras (Won 3-2) The final game had become a must win situation. A positive start with an excellent cross from Jamie Lewis down the right gave Attwood the opportunity to open the scoring within the first two minutes of the game and settle the nerves.

The second half started swiftly and Hitchman scored a harder chance!

The game continued to be dominated by ASA, with Balcarras limited to very few chances. A real team performance all the way to the end returned the required winning result as ASA progressed to the semi finals as group winners.

Sixth Form Football friendlies Vs Gloucester Academy Won 5-0 Vs Chosen Hill Won 3-0 Vs Pates Lost 3-1 B Team Vs Pates B Lost 3-0 Following our exit from the national cup round of 32 Mr Ferguson had set up a number of friendly fixtures to prepare us for the district, county and national competitions next season.

The games have proven to be very valuable and a great opportunity to look at life without the four year 13 players who have provided fantastic service through out their time in the sixth form.

The recent defeat of both A and B teams by Pates has illustrated a need to be able to adapt tactics and performances to different conditions and surfaces, as has the continuity of management style and approach. Ferguson handed the A team reigns over to Seers and Mason for this encounter and in a similar vein to that of Manchester United under the guidance of Moyes the performance level of the team regressed. Unlike United, Ferguson will return to guide the team in their next outing against Cleeve on the first Wednesday after the Easter break.

On Wednesday 19th March All Saints’

Westminster House Hero of the Term Back in October one of our students faced a harrowing painful time following a road traffic accident. Shawn Cater Y7 5WH was hit by a car causing severe injuries to his leg.

Shawn had to endure hospitalisation, operations to his leg and continual medical care due to infections. In the months that passed Shawn faced some very arduous times, calling upon strength of body as well as spirit.

Shawn desperately wanted to return to school, his wish was fullfilled at the start of T4. Shawn refused to return part-time or to accept he would need any extra support; despite clearly being in considerable discomfort.

Westminster House are making Shawn their hero for his determination, continual positivity and his refusal to give in when times were at their hardest.

Shawn has shown true spiritual strength along with levels of resilience and perseverance that we in Westminster House (and at ASA) are very proud of. The quality of character Shawn has shown is what we strive for in all our young people

By Miss Wellington Teacher of ICT

Emmanuel Villarba - A2 Photography - Physical Manipulation Academy CCF Flight attended a Field day at RAF Cosford. The day started with drill parade and uniform check before leaving Dean Close School. All cadets looking resplendent in their CS95 combat uniforms.

Once arrived at the base we spent the morning looking around the RAF museum, learning about the origins of the Royal Air Force, its use in the Cold War and other conflicts – as well as being amazed by the amounts of air craft housed in this hanger. We then went on to look into the science of flight, with experiments into thrust and air resistance.

Once again, as the lead Officer of All Saints’ Academy Combined Cadet Force I was left filled with pride and admiration about our all girl flight who rose to every challenge with amazing courage and exceptional manners. The girls are a credit to the school and themselves.

A r t

By Mrs Bayliss

By Mrs Daly Photography Teacher

Students taking A level Photography are asked to not only capture and edit images, but also to enhance imagery with physical manipulations. This is where the student adds to, or removes areas of a printed image using skills and processes more commonly linked to producing art work. They are asked to think about artistic improvements to their work, which could include bleaching, cutting out areas to remove sections of the image, cutting up & re ordering the image, layering up and combining several images, painting on to the print, stitching into it, scratching back, subtle collaging of areas, mixed media enhancements, and scanning in the physically manipulated image & reworking with further digital editing to enhance certain elements of the image.

Here is a showcase of some of the AS and A2 work the students have produced for this task on their units of coursework- some really exciting pieces guys, well done on your hard work to date!

Careers

By Mrs Parr Sixth Form Pastoral Manager

Head of Art & Design Above: Pen & watercolour wash studies on the theme of multiculturalism and personal identity.

Student of the term – Abigail Street.

Abigail has been exploring her exam theme ‘Multi-cultural Society’. She has studied people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, observing the differences and the ways they have influenced each other. She has been producing a wide range of drawings and studies using a variety of materials. Abigail has researched a range of Artists who have been inspired by contemporary interracial society and has used their approach and techniques to inform her work . She has produced dynamic and well executed outcomes that aspire to higher grades.

Left: Pen and wash drawing on the theme of multiculturalism and personal identity by Abigail Street.

Chelsea Craven - AS Photography - Physical Manipulation

National Careers Week and National Apprenticeship Week From 3rd - 7th March, there is careers advice for everyone as National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week coincide: This is the biggest careers initiative in the UK. NCW2014 is being supported by a host of stakeholders – from Barclays LifeSkills through to Sky, NHS, ACCA, Virgin Media and O2.

Getting the right careers advice at the right time has never been so important. It means you can make the right choices for your future and gain the skills and confidence you need to reach your goals.

To launch NCW at ASA we now offer a “drop in” to chat about career choices, applying to university, apprenticeship opportunities and the chance to book a meeting with Mrs Parr or Mrs Taylor.

NCW is a celebration of career pathways and an invaluable insight to the world of work for so many people.

Leah Bowers - A2 Photography Personal Investigation Coursework

Bryoni Bradshaw - A2 Photography - Physical Manipulation National Apprenticeship Week 2014 Over 20,000 new apprentice jobs pledged for National Apprenticeship Week.

And it’s not just big corporates that are showing their commitment to Apprenticeships – 47% of the employers creating new Apprenticeships are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP, has released a video message to thank National Apprenticeship Week supporters.

The in video he talks of the importance of Apprenticeships and Traineeships the national economy, and the benefits they bring to individuals and employers across the country, as well as thanking supporters for their work organising events and raising awareness.

You can register and apply for Apprenticeship opportunities at: www.apprenticships.org If you are unsure about whether you are suited to university, or are just contemplating your options, contact us for independent, impartial advice on learning and work. You can also get access to a wide range of information about careers and the job market. Advice is also available online: https://nationalcareersservice.direct. gov.uk and over the phone on Freephone 0800 100 900 to everyone aged 13.

Issue 25, Term 4, 2014

ASA SPORTS with energy! The Year 12 students have been studying a ‘Leadership in Sport’ module in which they have been learning about the qualities, characteristics and roles of effective sports leaders, as well as the importance of psychological

PE Technician

By Miss Daley PE Technician

Leadership Academy Update Student Reporters We were selected by the PE department to apply for a place in the School Sport Network Leadership Academy.

When filling in our application form we had to complete a number of questions, two of the main questions were “What we would like to get out of the experience and why we should have been given a place”. The three of us (Macy, Chloe and Rezi) who were lucky enough to get accepted all wanted to gain some leadership experience and confidence in coaching sports events.

In our first Leadership academy session, we focused on working together as a team by doing various activities that meant we had to communicate and work as a team to complete the tasks. We worked on our leadership skills by having a circuit of various different games. On each station a person out of the group would have a set of instructions and would teach this game to the rest of the group. By doing this, we gained

All

more confidence and learned the qualities a good leader should have which we discussed when we all came together. Overall, in this session we learned qualities of a good leader by having a group discussion and putting this into practice. We also improved our skills to work well as a team like communicating and listening also giving us the chance to get the know everyone else in the Leadership Academy.

On our second session, we focused on officiating. We split into groups and discussed the good qualities of a good referee where we then came in together and presented our ideas. Some of the things we found that to be a good referee was you had to: have confidence in your decisions, have knowledge over the game, non-biased, smart in your appearance, be direct with your decisions and more. After this, we had to put these skills into practice. Three different games were set up: Netball, Hockey and Bench Ball and we were split into three different groups. Within our groups, we had to ref at least one of these games where after we discussed our strength and weakness’. In this session, we learned how to officiate and the skills required for this. Not only this, we also learned how it is a lot harder

Saints’

By Mr Ferguson Assistant Principal

(H) 12/12/13 – Vs Cotswold 35 – 45 (A) 18/12/13 – Vs Bournside 18 - 19 (H) 08/1/14 - Vs Cleeve 30 - 51 (H) 14/01/14 - Vs Pates 31 - 44 (A) 04/02/14 - Vs Balcarras 42 - 60 (A) 10/02/14 - Vs Chosen Hill 26-33

Year 3 & 4 Football Festival

factors in leading sports activities. Miss Morley who teaches the students said “it has been great to watch the students applying their knowledge in such an inspiring way by running a successful festival”.

Last month 120 excited primary school children came to All Saints’ for our Year 1 Multi-skills festival. A group of our Year 12 BTEC Sport students ran the festival fantastically for the excited 5-6 year olds, who came from Hesters Way Primary, Christ Church Primary, Gloucester Road Primary and St Gregory The Great. The festival gave the children a fun opportunity to improve their physical literacy, with activities focusing on fundamental skills such as Agility, Balance and Coordination. Teachers from the schools commented on how good our students were with the children. Lottie Keeling and Chelsie Lyons led the ‘Wake and Shake’ warm-up which went down really well with the children who were bursting

By Chloe Betteridge & Macy Patterson

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Year 1 Multi-skills festival

By Miss Daley

@ASASportsDept

By Emily Towle Student Reporter

to put these into practice than to actually just identify the skills. During this session we improved in our confidence to ref and gained our knowledge on how to successfully officiate. We then finished this session with a large game of dodge ball.

At the end of this experience, we will put all of these skills into practice and run an event teaching and officiating younger children sports. This event will have been planned by all of us student taking part in the Leadership Academy and will be taking place on Thursday the 10th of July. It will be

Academy

The season has ended and despite the six defeats the boys are keen and enthusiastic to keep on playing. The team rebounded, moved, defended and created so effectively all season; it was just unfortunate that they lacked finesse under the basket resulted in a low percentage return.

The team know what they need to work on and will return stronger next season.

Team awards: Ryan’The Beast’ Attwood – Most valuable player Rey ‘Maverick’ Lluisima and Ergys ‘Chopper’ Berisha – Joint top scorers Bradley ’Carrot’ Marks- Most improved

On Wednesday 5th March we welcomed Year 3&4 students from our cluster primary schools to play in an inter-school football tournament. Primary schools that attended were: Hesters Way, Gardners Lane, Gloucester Road, St Thomas More, St Gregory the Great, Rowanfield and Springbank. Teams were split into two leagues, with some great footballing ability and amazing team spirit witnessed during these group stages!

Springbank and Gardners Lane both won their respective groups and played each other in the final. The score was 0-0 after full time, so the teams went headto-head on penalties! It was an exciting but nerve-racking moment for Gardners Lane final penalty taker who needed to score for their team to win the tournament… GOAL! Well done to Gardners Lane for their elated win and to all teams that took part. A huge thanks to our three refs who did an amazing job; Callum Smith, Harry Godwin and Ben Martin.

an amazing, unique experience to have.

So far, we are all very much enjoying ourselves and having so much fun.

We’ve only had two sessions so far but we have learnt so much and have had loads of fun. We know we’re going to enjoy ourselves hugely at all the sessions and at the event as they are fun filled with games and meeting new people. It has been amazing so far and at the end we know we will have had a great, fun filled experience not only making new friends and playing games but improving and becoming greater in our confidence and leading skills.

Armadillos

As part of Yr. 12’s sport BTEC course (Unit 23), they have to organise a sporting event. This year they are organising girls inter-house football. This event will take place during school time, and if participating in the inter house it will be instead of their normal lessons. It is to be held on Wednesday 2nd April in the sports hall.

The schedule of the day is as follows:Period 1: Yr. 8, period 2: Yr. 9, period 3: Yr. 7 period 4: Yr. 10 period 5: Yr. 11 The inter-house will be run on a round robin system where everybody plays each other and the house with the most points will win. Each team needs a minimum of 6 players as the games are 5-aside. But, we are urging as many people as possible to take part, get involved and support their houses.

All of the girls need to be in full ASA P.E. kit and preferably shin pads. They will also need to wear trainers that are suitable for the sports hall.

There will be refreshment available on the day.

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