May 2017 Issue #153
Word on the Street The Newsletter of Green Spring Academy SHOREDITCH and Sixth Form
We are the Champions! On Wednesday 10th May, Year 8 and 9 students victoriously outclassed their contemporaries by becoming Regional Champions at the maths tournament Count on Us Secondary Challenge. The tournament took place at Lister Community School and is delivered in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation. By combining a series of mental arithmetic and problem solving tasks, the Secondary Challenge helps students become confident mathematicians, developing mathematical fluency and improving problem solving skills. It involved four rounds and GSAS students were consistently leading throughout the event. The students were determined, resilient and worked together to win. The list of students who took part is below. They were all truly amazing and are looking forward to the semi-finals ahead. Siham Mohamed (Year 8) Tina Seleshe (Year 8) Jawad Bakar (Year 9) Mohame Ali Mohamed (Year 9) Nora Al Morhiby (Year 9)
GSAS reach Teen Tech Finals!
Tower Hamlets Speaks Out!
In September 2016, a group of Year 9 and 10 students began work for the Teen Tech competition. Students were asked to invent and design a product for a problem they felt needed solving, based on ‘making life easier, simpler or better’. During the project, students had to use a range of skills excelling at creativity, critical thinking, team work and their ability to present their ideas. The students, representing the Environment, Future of Food and Manufacturing categories, were thrilled to learn that they had reached the national TeenTech Awards final taking place on Monday 26th June. Overall winners will be presented with their awards by HRH Duke of York KG at Buckingham Palace. Reaching the finals is a remarkable achievement and huge congratulations to all the students who took part.
On Thursday 4th May, the Tower Hamlets Public Speaking Competition was held at Lloyd’s. The competition saw over 200 Year 10 students (14-15 year olds) from all over the borough take part. Siham Elmie in Year 10 was selected as one of the final contestants after successfully completing a number of gruelling rounds to earn her place above hundreds of other participants. Her speech was passionate and entertaining and she definitely seemed to win over the audience with her argument for more investment in space exploration. Siham represented the academy exceptionally well and the English department have been very impressed with her preparation for this event. Although Siham did not win on this occasion, we congratulate her achievement in reaching such a late stage of the competition.
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Author Sarah Mussi talks fantasy Year 10s Step into Success
World Book Week at GSAS
On Tuesday 9th May, twenty Year 7 and 8 students gave a warm and appreciative welcome to Sarah Mussi, an award-winning author of children’s and young adults’ fiction. Ms Mussi entertained the students with amusing accounts of the events which inspire her to write The Snowdonia Chronicles: Here Be Dragons and Here Be Witches. She told the students of her own journey of creative inspiration, where she went to the summit of Mount Snowdon, and gained influence from the Welsh flag to write about Dragons. This experience gave students the tools to feel inspired to get back into reading stories about fantasy, and perhaps even begin writing their own fantasy novels.
On Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th May a group of Year 10 students created and led their own social action project during break and lunch times. The students decided to name the project ‘Young Steps’ and came up with an accompanying logo and the slogan ‘Stepping into Success’. The community campaign focused on sign-posting young people to enrichment opportunities, extra-curricular activities and support services in the local area. It encouraged students to look ahead and think of different career paths, and to take advantage now of opportunities available to them because they may impact their future success and well-being.
Year 7s are the best!
DofE Camping Expedition
On Wednesday 3rd May 2017, thirty Year 7 students were given an insight into the life of a city professional. The careers event, entitled ‘Be the Best You Can’, was organised by leading education charity Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership and involved volunteers from Barclays and ADM. The visitors gave the students a presentation on how to plan their careers and they discussed a range of key skills, including presentation, leadership, communication, team work, problem solving and time management. The visitors explained why these skills were important and how they were used in a work environment. These early discussions provide them with an opportunity to start to think about career paths and consider their own subject options for future success.
On Saturday 29th to 30th April 2017, twenty four Year 9 students descended on The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Practice Expedition. The students, supported by seven members of staff gained a range of experiences in orienteering skills, tent skills and cooking skills. The trip built their self-esteem and team work skills. It was especially good to see those students that sometimes struggle in the classroom to thrive in an outdoor environment. As well as all the hard work that took place during the day, there were also many games and ghost stories around the camp fire before bedtime. Students were great ambassadors for the academy and a big thank you to all the staff involved who gave up their bank holiday weekends to support the students.
GSAS Cricket team visit Lords
Coming soon.....
On Wednesday 27th April, the GSAS senior cricket team visited Lords Cricket Ground for the annual MCC and Middlesex Board’s School Engagement Day. They watched Middlesex take on Sussex in the one day cup. The students also got to take part in various cricket activities run by professionals. It was an amazing experience for our cricket team and a great incentive ahead of the cricket season. The students had a fantastic time and represented the school with pride.
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