THE OFFICIAL KENSINGTON ALDRIDGE ACADEMY MAGAZINE
#7 A ut umn 2 0 16
WELCOMING OUR SIX TH FORM
PR I N C I PA L’ S W E L C O M E In this ISSUE... House System House Captains Basketball Times Tables Rock Stars Art & Design - photography Spelling Bee Speed Chess Charity Week Gelosia Maths Challenge Creative Writing Drawing
2 3-4 5 6 7-8 9 10 11-12 13 14 15
Performing & Creative Arts KAA’s Got Talent Christmas Panto Design Technology Christmas Concert A level Drama A Level Dance Aldridge Anniversary Concert
16 17-18 19 20 21 22 23
Sixth Form Careers
24
Entrepreneurship & Creates
25
Enrichment
26
Stretch Project
27
Model United Nations Trip
28
German Christmas Markets Trip
29
Sports
30-31
Dear Parents and Carers, In a previous edition of Intrepidus, I think from March of this year, I talked about the excitement I felt at KAA’s rapid growth in numbers. I said something like, whilst parents and students (and indeed staff) might be tempted to look back nostalgically on the time when we just had our first Year 7s (now mid-way through Year 9, and turning their attention to GCSEs), I can honestly say that I see the growth as an overwhelmingly positive thing. The reason is simple: every single new student and new teacher who joins KAA brings with them their own talents, their own ambitions and their own contribution to this project. And this term, when we have doubled from 360 to 600 students and added 27 new teachers, has really proven that. The pages that follow give some highlights, and show the foundations for further growth are stronger than ever. As well as showing the growth and development of the school, this edition of the Intrepidus is also the first to feature sixth form. Our founder sixth form students have quickly absorbed the KAA values of excellence, resilience, creativity and citizenship, and this is their school now as much as it is any of ours. I must say to the parents of Year 12 that they have had a brilliant term, and we wish them all the best with the revision over these holidays in advance of their mock AS exams on the first two days back, Thursday 5 th & Friday 6th January. As you’ll see from pages 3-4, Year 12s are taking up the house leadership roles in the academy for the first time, and in the summer term we will be appointing the first KAA Head Girl and Head Boy. History in the making. And what about our other new year group, the Year 7s who joined us in September? Well, I have been delighted with them too this term, managing the transition from primary to secondary school very well and quickly falling into step with the KAA way. Their success is reflected by the prominence they have in the pages below, for example page 16 where you can see so many of them pictured in this year’s KAA’s Got Talent competition.
So, a very busy and very successful term. My thanks to all parents for their ongoing support, whether it be baking cakes for charity week, attending school events, or just signing diaries and checking homework, it is hugely appreciated. Have a lovely, restful holiday, and see you all in 2017. With best wishes,
David Benson
Y7 Parent Notice: Please be aware that the Year 7 parents evening is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 10 th
January 2017, from 5pm-7.30pm. During the evening parents and guardians will have the opportunity to meet subject teachers to discuss their child’s progress since joining the academy. Whilst all teachers will be available, please note that some teach the majority of the year group and therefore will be quite busy during the evening. To avoid disappointment please arrive early.
Y9 Parent Notice: The Year 9 Options In formation Evening will take place on Tuesday 28 th February from 5pm-7.30pm. The even ing will h elp p a ren ts an d g u a rd ia n s to a ssis t with th e p r o c e s s o f s e l e c t in g G C S E
options.
A letter will be distributed to students after the holidays which contains a reply slip to
Stu d en ts
confirm your attendance. I would like to add that such evenings are essential for the development of each student and will also offer you an insight into how to support your child from home.
assemblies for all subjects across the Spring term. We are looking forward
will
rec eive
op tion s
Many thanks for your continued support,
to this exciting step for our Year 9 cohort.
Mr Bernard
Miss Deacon
the four building blocks of KAA life. They are named after women who exemplify an INTREPIDUS spirit and changed the world for the better through their actions. Our houses provide a focal point for academy events, competitions and rewards. They are strong communities of students and staff which develop
The house system has grown this year with an array of new interim house competitions during lunch breaks. In addition to the traditional football and basketball competitions, we have added Times Tables Rock Stars, Spelling
Sports Captains: Ellie (7 Grey-Thompson) Enrique (7 Grey-Thompson) Lilian (8 Nijinsky) Matthew (8 Nijinsky) Jeanette (9 Simmons) Bilal (9 Jobs) Ryan (12 Fry)
House Vice-Captain: Lucia Ilie (12 Roosevelt)
Franklin
This year the House System at KAA is bigger and better than ever before.
Lower School Vice-Captain: Ezekiel Crossdale de Freitas
House Captain: Madelaine Signey
a sense of belonging, pride and identity. Commendations, attendance, rewards and competitions all earn house points, and at the end of every half term we update students on the current positions. At the end of year assembly we reveal the winner of the House Cup.
Lower School Captain: Leah Thornton (9 Simmons)
Bee, Gelosia Multiplication, Speed Chess, creative writing, drawing, and many more to come over the Spring and Summer terms. These interim house competitions provide more students with the opportunity to
represent their house and collect points in the race for the 2016 -2017 House Cup.
Lower School Captain: Jeriel Quainoo (9 Kidston) Lower School Vice-Captain: Alexander Nzola (9 Oliver)
HOUSE SYSTEM
All KAA students are members of one of our four houses. Our houses are
House Vice-Captain: Maizie Wilson (12 Attlee)
Angelou
Bigger & better house system, including new student representatives
House Captain: Jade Makepeace (12 Fry)
Sports Captains: Toni (7 Radcliffe) Troy (7 Radcliffe) Jannete (8 Baker) Mahi (8 Matisse) Zaakirah (9 Kidston) Jodie (9 Oliver) Harry (12 Roosevelt) House Captain: Adullahi Ali (12 Maathai) House Vice-Captain: Amin (12 Wilberforce)
Pankhurst families. With large communities across the house system this was the perfect opportunity to select students for house leadership roles. Students applied to their Head of House and were then interviewed for the roles - with House Captain, House Vice Captain, Lower School Captain, Lower School Vice Captain and Sports Captain roles to be filled.
We are very happy to announce the full list of student representative here. They have already been hard at work throughout the Autumn term helping
Honeyball
The houses have also grown in size with our new sixth formers and another cohort of Year 7s joining the Angelou, Franklin, Honeyball and
their Heads of House organise students for lunch time house competitions, and fundraising for House Charity. It is fantastic to see the sixth formers working side by side with students in Year 7, 8 and 9.
Lower School Vice-Captain: Jennica Capperos (9 Winfrey) Sports Captains: Hanadi (7 Holmes) Tate (7 Murray) Georgina (8 Lennon) Shane (8 Hepburn) Jennifer (9 Winfrey) Heru (9 Winfrey) Juan (12 Maathai) House Captain: Kai (12 Sirleaf) House Vice-Captain: Sameera (12 Tutu)
Pankhurst
Congratulations to all the new house representatives!
Lower School Captain: Leila Jarvis (9 Dyson)
Lower School Captain: Fatima (9 Berners-Lee) Lower School Vice-Captain: Sara (9 Berners-Lee) Sports Captains: Yousra (7 Hamilton) Amir (7 Hamilton) Aya (8 Chaplin) Rami (8 Kahlo) Sara (9 Berners-Lee) Bilal (9 Berners-Lee) Safar (12 Sirleaf)
2
HOUSE CAPTAINS
Introducing the House Captains... By Ara (8 Fitzgerald), Katie (8 Hepburn), Salvinna (7 Grey-Thompson) & Sydney (7 Farah)
Franklin House Captain - Madelaine Signey Favourite subject: P.E Favourite Sport: Basketball
Favourite sportsperson: Steph Curry - but disappointing from the last season! Which house competition this term was your favourite? House Basketball because it was fun to watch. Which upcoming house competitions are you most looking forward to ? House Music - I have lots of ideas for Franklin but they are all secret!
Madelaine playing Hous e Basketball
Franklin Vice Captain - Lucia Ilie Favourite subject: Physics How would you describe yourself? Ambitious, sporty and passionate for a variety of activities and subjects.
Times Tables Rock Stars in Autum n 1
Which house competition has been your favourite this term? The Times Tables Rock Stars maths challenge, because it was the first time the sixth formers got to work with people from different year groups and it was nice to see how enthusiastic they were about maths.
Pankhurst House Captain - Kai Chappell Favourite song: Pompeii by Bastille Favourite book: Mockingbird What is your plan in your role as House Captain? Lead Pankhurst to victory, making sure everyone is engaged at some point. Which house competitions are you looking forward to the most? House Drama because I’m good at the subject and Debating because I’m a confident speaker.
Pankhurst Vice Captain - Sameera Sharma Favourite song: There’s Too Many by Mercy-Shawn Mendes Favourite book: Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo Describe yourself in 3 words: Helpful, bubbly, random Do you have any plans for Pankhurst this year? I’m hoping to have more house gatherings so that we can all get to know each
3
other better, leading to a stronger bond within Pankhurst.
Which competition did you enjoy the most this term? The Spelling Bee. I was nervous and got a difficult word wrong near the end of the competition. I want to share this experience because I want others to know it’s ok to not win first or second or even third as long as you have fun. Which competition are you looking forward to the most? I’m looking forward to Sports Day because I will be able to engage most students and sport improves the athleticism and health of people in the school. What are your plans for this year? To lead Honeyball to victory by getting more people involved.
Abdullahi competing for Honeyball in the Speed Chess tournam ent
Honeyball Vice Captain - Amin Hashemi Describe yourself in 3 words? Inspiring, creative and innovative What is your favourite thing about KAA? I enjoy the library and having the opportunity to attend subject drop -in sessions after school. I love th e House spirit.
Amin helping fello w Honeyball stud ent Katie prep for the Spelling Bee
What do you want to do in the future? I would like to become an architect and travel around the world.
HOUSE CAPTAINS
Honeyball House Captain - Abudullahi Ali
Angelou House Captain - Jade Makepeace Do have any ideas for leading the students in Angelou this year? I think we should play games during house assemblies for us all to have a chance to know each other. I want to make sure that all students have a good time in every house or inter-house competition, no matter how big or small, whether we win or lose. I want to bring students of all ages together with lots of fun activities. Which House Competition has been your favourite so far?
House Basketball
because there was a good atmosphere and lots of people
contributing.
Jade selling cakes during Charity Week
Angelou Vice Captain - Maizie Wilson Favourite subject: Music
Favourite song: Wreak Havoc by Skylar Grey Describe yourself in 3 words: Creative, dedicated, hardworking Which House Competition are you looking forward to most and why? I’m looking forward to House Music because I sing and I am in a band and I’m very interested in Music. Which competitions have you enjoyed most so far in the Autumn term? I really enjoyed the House Art competition because I like to be creative.
4
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
Basketball
The first interim house competition of the year kicked off in the Autumn 1 term as students battled it out to be crowned basketball champions. Matches were played at lunch times, with the finals taking place after school on Friday each week. Staff and students turned up to support the players in their house as always and there was a great atmosphere. First place for the boys competition went to Franklin house,
whilst Honeyball were victorious in the girls tournament. Full results listed below! Many thanks to Mr Campbell for organising the tournament..
5
Boys HOUSE B ASKETBALL results Y7 Boys
Y8 Boys
Y9 Boys
1st
Angelou
Franklin
Pankhurst
2nd
Franklin
Honeyball
Franklin
= 2nd place - PANKHURST - 1750 points
3rd
Honeyball
Pankhurst
Honeyball
4th place - ANGELOU - 750 points
4th
Pankhurst
Angelou
Angelou
1st place - FRANKLIN - 2500 points = 2nd place - HONEYBALL - 1750 points
Y7 Girls
Y8 Girls
Y9 Girls
Girls HOUSE BASKETBALL results
1st
Honeyball
Franklin
Angelou
1st place - HONEYBALL - 2500 points
2nd
Pankhurst
Honeyball
Honeyball
= 2nd place - ANGELOU - 1750 points
3rd
Franklin
Angelou
Pankhurst
= 2nd place - FRANKLIN - 1750 points
4th
Angelou
Pankhurst
Franklin
4th place - PANKHURST - 750 points
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
TIMES TABLE ROCK STARS On Friday 30th September the maths department hosted the first
Times Tables Rock Stars House Competition during lunch time. The event was well attended by staff and student spectators keen to support the representativ es from their houses!
Mr Edwards said, “It was super to have 45 students and staff
members, ranging from Year 7 to Year 12 and beyond, completing so many time-tables during their lunchtime. By my calculations we had at least 4000 times tables answered
correctly, plus many more sheets where one or two mista kes only were made.”
He added, “Even more exciting than the people taking part was the immense enthusiasm from students and staff in supporting
their team members and some fun times were had dancing along to some rock classics at the same time!”
The winning house was Franklin with 22 correctly completed times tables sheets. The 2500 house points were a huge boost for Franklin following their win in the House Basketball competition.
Thanks must go to the Maths Department, and Mr Edwards in particular, for organising the brilliant competition.
TIMES TABLE ROCK STARS results 1st place - FRANKLIN - 2500 points 2nd place - PANKHURST - 1750 points 3rd place - HONEYBALL - 1250 points 4th place - ANGELOU - 750 points
6
HOUSE COMPETITIONS 7
ART & DESIGN: photography The main house competition of the Autumn 1 term
was a photography themed Art & Design competition. Students were challenged to snap 10 photos representing the local area, incorporating architecture, people, natural environmen t and atmosphere. Editing the photographs was encouraged, and some students chose to add text, filters and paint to their work. The quality of entries was outstanding - a selection of which are presented here. The results of the competition were decided by scoring each individual entry and adding up the total points for each house. Julia’s 10 photographs were judged the best overall collection. The results were announced at the end of Autumn 1 rewards assembly - Angelou won first place
and catapulted into first place in the race for the house cup!
2nd place - FRANKLIN - 8,000 points 3rd place - PANKHURST - 6,000 points 4th place - HONEYBALL - 4,000 points
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
1st place - ANGELOU - 10,000 points
8
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
SPELLING BEE
The first interim House Competition of Autumn 2 took place during lunch time on Friday 11th November. It was another first in KAA’s history as staff and students gathered in the theatre to watch the selected representatives of each house battle it out in our first ever Spelling Bee, organised by the English Department.
Each house put forward 10 students in years 7 - 12 to represent the house after trials during form time. There was a brilliant atmosphere in the theatre, with a packed audience of staff and students there to cheer on the competitors.
The winning house was calculated by combining the total words spelt correctly by all team members. The 2,500 points for first place went to Angelou after impressive performances from a full team.
The students involved displayed incredible Intrepidus by taking part in front of so many spectators. Many of them overcame huge nerves and wen t on to perform extremely well. Well done to every single comp etitor and congratulations to winners Angelou.
Finally, many thanks to the English Department for
organising another fantastic house competition.
Spell Bee results 1st place - ANGELOU - 2,500 points 2nd place - PANKHURST - 1,750 3rd place - FRANKLIN - 1,250 points 4th place - HONEYBALL - 750 points
9
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
SPEED CHESS
The speed chess tournament took place during lunch time on the 18 th and 25 th of November. Each game was 5 minutes long with a 10 second time limit per move. At the end of each game, the winner was the player with the most points gained from valuable captures. After the places for each year group were decided in the finals, the points were aggregated to give an overall winner for th e competition.
It was fantastic to see students from all year groups battling it out to be crowned Speed Chess Champion. Congratulations to Pankhurst house for their first Interim House Competition win!
Thanks must go to Mr Curtis for organising the tournament.
Students that have had their interest peaked after participating or spectating during Speed Chess should sign up to the Chess enrichment club in the spring term!
Overall Speed Chess results 1st - PANKHURST - 2,500 pts 2nd - HONEYBALL - 1,750 pts = 3rd - FRANKLIN - 1,250 pts = 3rd - ANGELOU - 1,250 pts Staff
Y12
Y9
Y8
Y7
1st
Angelou
Pankhurst
Honeyball
Pankhurst
Franklin
2nd
Pankhurst
Honeyball
Pankhurst
Franklin
Angelou
3rd
Honeyball
Franklin
Angelou
Angelou
Honeyball
4th
Franklin
N/A
Franklin
Honeyball
Pankhurst
10
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
CHARITY WEEK: Charity Week always brings our core value of citizenship to life, and this year was without a doubt our biggest and best Charity Week ev er. Students raised a total of £5,448.54 for charity - the largest charity week total in our history!
HONEYBALL
Honeyball students had the first day of th e week for their fundraising at school, and their chosen charity was West London Action for Children, an organisation that offers help and support for foster families, adopted children and disabled young people.
Break and lunch time were filled with activities, including a donut eating contest, a mannequin challenge, a bottle flipping competition and a guess the sweets in the jar game. The most popular of Honeyball’s enrichment activities was
FRANKLIN
the chance to watch Year 12 students waxing Mr Pavey and Mr Fisher’s legs. This year Franklin house collected money for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust. In addition to a cake sale at break and lunch time, Franklin students ran a stall selling beautiful handmade Christmas cards and jewellery. To collect some extra money for their charity, a group of staff and students took their Christmas gift stall to Portobello Market on Saturday 26 th November and completely sold out of Christmas cards! A brilliant entrepreneurial fundraising idea from
Franklin.
ANGELOU
On Wednesday 23rd November Angelou organised a day of fundraising to raise money for Crisis at Christmas. KAA has a special relationship with this charity as each year our building is turned into a Crisis centre which provides food, shelter, health care and more to homeless people. Angelou’s two biggest fundraising events were a KAA
Sleepover (many thanks to Mr Kavanagh, Miss Deacon, Mr Edwards, Miss Dench and Mr Hajjaj for supervising) and KAA’s Got Talent. On Thursday 24th November it was Pankhurst’s turn to take over the school with fundraising events. Pankhurst chose to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Events included Egg the Student, Staff vs Student football, a sponsored Fun Run and a Pankhurst Party during enrichment. Runners in Year 7, 8, 9 and 12 raised hundreds of pounds in sponsorship for their 2k run. A tough run in
cold weather - a huge well done to each and every runner. A heartfelt thanks to ALL staff, students & family for making
11
this our most successful Charity Week ever.
PANKHURST
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
citizenship
1st place - ANGELOU - 10,000 pts 2nd place - PANKHURST - 8,000 pts 3rd place - FRANKLIN - 6,000 pts 4th place - HONEYBALL - 4,000 pts
12
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
Gelosia Maths Challenge On Friday 2 nd December the Maths Department hosted their second interim house competition. Once again the theatre was filled with staff and student spectators as representatives from each house battled it out to prove their prowess, this time completing Chinese multiplication in an action-packed relay tournament. Each house had 2 students from each year group and a staff
member making up their relay team. Beginning with 2x2 Gelosia tables, contestants had to complete two Gelosia tables before running their sheet over to the other side of the theatre for their team mate to continue. Once the whole team had completed two 2x2 tables, they moved onto 3x3 and up until the time was up. The winner was th e team with the most correctly completed tables in the time period. After answers were checked it was revealed that Franklin pinched 1 st place, winning 2500 house points and their second consecutive house maths title. Well done to all those that took part, and many thanks to Mr
Edwards and the maths team for hosting the event.
GELOSIA results 1st place - FRANKLIN - 2500 points 2nd place - ANGELOU - 1750 points = 3rd place - HONEYBALL - 1250 points 13
= 3rd place - PANKHURST - 1250 points
The task for the creative writing competition was to write a short story using one of four starter sentences. The judges looked for d escrip tive la ngua g e, a b elieva ble narrative voice and a creative plot. There were many fantastic entries from each house, but Honeyball just managed to take first place from Franklin after much debate between the judges. Special mention went to Leila (9 Dyson) and Lorenzo (12 Nightingale) for their fantastic
entries. Leila’s story is included below for you to read!
Creative writing results 1st place - HONEYBALL - 2500 points 2nd place - FRANKLIN- 1750 points 3rd place - ANGELOU - 1250 points 4th place - PANKHURST - 750 points
The Wrong Soul by Leila (9 Dyson)
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
Creative writing
The glove lay on the ground, hidden under the wooden f rame of the double bed draped in a rather tacky, pink duvet and the almost lif eless body of Ava Clarke. But that isn’t my problem, my problem is what comes af ter lif e finally leaves her.
The glove was obviously the murderer’s, a latex glove; opaque, kissed with droplets of ruby-red blood. Blood identical to the liquid seeping slowly out of the gash, disturbing the f ramework of the beautif ully woven cloth that was Ava’s pale skin. The knif e must be here somewhere; an ugly duckling in a sea of bright pink and all things nauseatingly girly. There it is. Flung in t he middle of a pile of teddy bears, too cheery and blissf ul to notice the cruel object amongst them, dripping blood on their soft f ur, tampering with their innocent demeanour. As the bitter stench of blood concealed the sickly sweet smell of perf ume, I smirked, finally breathing f reely, at least there’s one silver lining f rom this death. My train of thought was suddenly cut off by the soft groan escaping the pale, bloodless lips of Ava, her glazed over eyes looked right at me, pitif ully, as if she was looking into my very soul. Chills f looded through me. I thought back, without a memory to enlighten me, to when a mortal ever saw me.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, experience shielding the tears I f elt, “I’m so sorry.” Moaning something in reply, whether a curse or cry for help, I will never know.
‘Duty before Emotion.’ I recall a mant ra I learned long ago, my heart returns to cold stone. I take my scythe f rom my back pocket; smiling I watch it grow to f ull size, as it gleams in the light like the stolen flames of Prometheus. Suddenly, the world around Ava and I darkened, an occurrence I am all too f amiliar with, the only light coming f rom Ava’s lif eless body, glowing brighter and brighter. Her soul was escaping. Both of them. Brighter and brighter she glowed, until the glaring light became all I could see. I held my ground. The light disappeared, the room returned to its dim light but perpetual darkness compared to the blinding light that once was. Everything remained, nothing was damaged and there was no evidence of any supernatural happening, unless you count the two figures looming over Ava’s f rail form.
Both were Ava, more alike than her ref lection in the mirror, but distinctly diff erent. One gleamed with all the good in Ava, all her positivity; her happy memories; in other words, the good half of her soul. The other half was a diff erent story; it snarled with all the hatred, bitterness and spite in her soul; it lived off her bad memories, nightmares and heartbreak. Her evil. The side I must destroy. Scythe in hand, I lunged at evil Ava, landing a blow, the hilt to her shoulder. She hissed, jumping on the bed yet not making a single rumple in the sheets. She swiped at the air, a threat, daring me to come closer. I took the challenge. Leaping into the air I swung my scythe, a gash appeared on the neck of evil Ava. She snarled, one last snarl, bef ore glowing brighter and brighter once more, before burning out and disappearing f or good. Without f linching, I f aced good Ava, as she opened the newly -appeared, gleaming gold door. Now able to move on, she turned around before walking through the door, sneering. She sneered with all the hatred in Ava’s heart. Mine f ell to my f eet, I had destroyed the wrong soul.
14
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
House Drawing
The house drawing competition allowed students
1st place - FRANKLIN - 2500 points
The winning four drawings are shown here - and as
2nd place - PANKHURST - 1750 points
you can see they are absolutely stunning! Ellen p rod u ced t wo en t ries a n d won th e
3rd place - ANGELOU - 1250 points
competition for Franklin house, winning 2,500 house points. Reese collected 1,750 points for Pankhurst with his anime style portrait. Randa also drew a portrait, winning 1,250 points for Angelou. Vivian’s house system inspired illustration won fourth place, winning 750 points for Honeyball. Well done to everyone who entered and many
thanks for Miss John for organising this very creative interim house competition!
15
HOUSE DRAWING results
to freely express their creativity. The brief was to fill an A3 page with a drawing of any style.
Vivian (12 Lennon)
4th place - HONEYBALL - 750 points
sold over 300 tickets for the show in aid of Crisis at Christmas. As a result there was a fantastic atmosphere as students cheered on the performers. The audience were treated to 12 acts, ranging from comedy and magic to singing and dancing, and every year group was represented. It was fantastic to have such a variety of talents at this year’s show. The singing acts included Firdaws (7 Radcliffe), Titelayo (12 Maathai), Sofia (7 Moore), Asia (8 Nijinsky), and Maizie (12 Attlee), who was accompanied by Chase (12 Sirleaf) on guitar.
There was dancing of different styles, including a dance routine on roller skates from Ainhoa (7 Moore)! Other dance acts included Jayden (9 Winfrey), Nile (7 Murray), Hannah (7 Moore) and Angelli (12 Roosevelt). But the talent on offer from our students was not limited to singing and dancing. There was stand-up comedy from Alex (7 Lewis), a piano solo from Owen (8 Hepburn) and magic from Ara (8 Nijinsky). The contest was judged by Mr Fisher, Mr Dunning, Miss Hitchcock, and Miss ‘Simon Cowell’ Rieder. Whilst the judges conferred, the audience enjoyed a performance from Johara (9 Dyson), winner of KAA’s Got Talent 2014. Angelli, who received a standing ovation from the judges for her dance routine, was awarded first place. Second and third place went to Firdaws and Jayden. You can watch Angelli’s winning dance routine on the KAA
Video YouTube channel, as well as performances from the other acts.
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
This year’s KAA’s Got Talent was a huge success, Angelou
16
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
Sleeping Ugly As a Performing & Creative Arts specialist school, events such as the Christmas Pantomime are a highlight in our calendar. This year’s Christmas production was a modern twist on the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, an all-singing, all-dancing, comedy treat for the whole family. The cast put on a matinee for children from local primary
schools on Wednesday 30 th November, it went down a treat with a fantastic level of audience participation. After the show the cast greeted the audience in reception and there were smiles all round after the entertaining show. The evening show was performed on Tuesday 1 st December
to a full house. The evening audience did not disappoint when it came to audience participation - the highlight of which saw Mr Bernard, Miss Sullivan, Mr Latimir, Mr Dunning and Mr Edwards take part in dance off to Silento’s Watch Me (Whip/ Nae Nae). After a full term of rehearsals during drama club, the cast pulled off a fantastically entertaining evening. Charlie (9 Kidston) and Jodie (9 Oliver) formed an irrepressible comedy duo as the narrators, Adea (8 Baker) and Musa (8 Lennon) starred as the leading couple, Maisie (9 Simmons) shone as the u nlikea ble villain, Olivia (8 Ba ker) played an uncharacteristically judgemental fairy godmother, and Amira
(7 Murray), Mia (7 Holmes), Lily (7 Radcliffe), Aya (8 Lennon) and Samuel (8 Chaplin) made their acting debuts on the KAA stage as the 5 student break-ins on Christmas Eve. The core cast were supported by dancers Jayden (9 Winfrey), Tara (12 Roosevelt) and Indigo (12 Sirleaf), the Year 12 choir, and Mr Kavanagh in a cameo role of Father Christmas. Many thanks to Miss Gurnell for all her work putting the show together. Thanks also to Mr Dunning, Mr Fisher, Mr Rigby, Mr Kavanagh and Mr Akhlaque for their dance, music and backstage contributions. Finally, thank you to Miss Agullano for her work on hair and make up. KAA will be bringing you Oliver the Musical in 2017! Students
interested in being part of our next production should keep a lookou t for audition dates on the Drama Notice Board at th e beginning of the Spring term. We will need actors, singers,
17
dancers, and musicians from all years!
PEFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
18
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
The three different disciplines are taught termly on a carousel in Design Technology.
During their Product Design rotation, year 8 students researched, designed and prototyped creative packaging and logos. Students looked to the work of Wally Olins, cooperate identity and branding to test and develop their ideas. Some fantastic packaging pictured from Agnes (8 Matisse) and Fatima (8 Hepburn). Talented designers!
During the year 9 rotation of Food & Nutrition students were set the challenge of deconstructing and redesigning a basic lemon meringue recipe.
Inspired by the work of Chef Grant Achatz, students applied their knowledge and skills of food science and preparation. Outstanding outcomes from Cyan (9 Kidston) and Agnesa (9 Balon).
Textile Design in year 7 explored different surface decoration techniques; batik, marbling and hand embroidery. Pictured is the work of Libby (7 Farah), star learner of the term! 19
PEFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
Christmas Concert
The Christmas Concert on Tuesday 13 th December was a
huge success, the very first with collaborations between students in key stage 3 and sixth form. We are very pleased to now have students from all four of our year groups in both the orchestra and choir. The night began with festivity as the choir sang Christmas
carols as guests entered the thea tre. This was followed by performances from all three strands of Performing Arts, beginning with the orchestra. Guests were then treated to a contemporary dance piece by A level Dance students Tara (12 Roosevelt), Indigo (12 Sirleaf) and Chase (12 Sirleaf). The A level Drama department contributed a
riveting scene from 1984 performed by Kai (12 Sirleaf), Charlotte (12 Tutu) and Titilayo (12 Maathai). The evening also included a piano solo from Sofia (8 Chaplin), a piano duet from Milan (9 Balon) and Stefano (9
Winfrey), and a performance of Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud by Zena (9 Dyson), Safiyah (9 Jobs) and Amani (9 Oliver), accompanied on guitar by Chase (12 Sirleaf). The incredible evening was rounded off by a rousing
rendition of War is Over by the entire concert’s worth of students which numbered 70 pupils from years 7 to 12!
Congratulations to all involved for a spectacular show and thank you to our Performing Arts team, Mr Fisher, Mr
Rigby, Mr Kavanagh, Miss Gurnell and Mr Dunning for all their work organising the wonderful event.
20
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
A LEVEL DRAMA
THEATRE TRIP & PERFORMANCES
On Wednesday 21 st September the A level Drama class went on a trip to see Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan’s stage adaptation of 1984 by George Orwell at The Playhouse Theatre in Charing Cross. Students are studying the text as part of the A level curriculum and were keen to see a live performance to inform their studies.
Students outside The Playhouse Theatre before watching 1984
On Wednesday 14th December the Year 12s performed extracts from this play adaptation for their first AS Drama practical examination. It is a requirement for these performances to have a live audience, so the drama department were joined by sta ff and family members in the theatre. The audience were blown away by the quality of the performances and everyone at KAA looks forward to more spec tacular work from the A level Drama group.
21
PEFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
On Tuesday 11th October our A Level Dance students attended
A LEVEL DANCE TRIP
a workshop run by Rambert Dance Company. The day started with a session in the archive, which gave students a historical concept of the company and a background into their work. They were also shown archived footage and allowed to try on
costumes from the companies wardrobe department. Following this, students were invited to have a tour of the building and had the fantastic opportunity of wa tching the company perform their
daily class.
The day ended with a two hour workshop in which a dancer from the company put the students through their paces with various contemporary exercises and professional repertoire which students are studying at A Level. Students came away
feeling very excited and looking
forward to applying what they learnt into their A Level studies.
10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
On the evening of the 8th November 2016, over 100 friends and
supporters of the Aldridge Foundation met at Spencer House, in London, to celebrate the Trust’s 10th anniversary. The event was marked by a guest speech by Sir David Carter, the National Schools Commissioner.
The KAA music department took nineteen singers across all
four year groups to perform at the 10th Anniversary of the Aldridge Foundation. The evening was a huge success, and Sir Rod was incredibly happy and proud of our KAA students! The
ch oir
sang
beau tifu lly
and
were
exc ep tional
throughout. They performed ‘Pompeii’, ‘Happy Ending’, ‘Read All about It’ and our school song ‘Sing’. Hiba, Sam, Vivian, Zena, Amani, Johara, Yasmin, Nada and Sofia sang some solos during
the performance and were absolutely outstanding.
22
CAREERS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
YEAR 12 CAREERS EVENTS Careers Workshops BY MISS JULINGS
On Thursday 1st December our Year 12 students were lucky enough to host 8 volunteers from Goldman Sachs, who were visiting to support a morning of employability skills workshops. The students learnt about writing cover letters and how best to prepare for job interviews, including strategies for answering tricky questions.
The volunteers had lots of advice about how to make a great first impression, in particular the importance a firm, confident handshake! Every student was then given the chance to test what they had learnt during a mock interview with a Goldman Sachs volunteer, where they answered questions about their strengths and weaknesses, with individualised feedback given at the end. The volunteers were seriously impressed with the quality of responses they received, commenting on how confident, articulate and engaged the students were. Well done to all the Year 12 students who took part and a huge thank you to the Goldman Sachs volunteers for their support.
Careers Fair
On Friday 9 th December our Year 12 students travelled to the Docklands Excel Centre to visit London's biggest jobs and careers event; Skills London. There were ov er 200 organisations present, providing information advice and guidance about the wide variety of options available to students upon finishing school. Students could find out about apprenticeships, higher education, training, employment and internships within a whole range of sectors, from Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing (STEM) to Public Services. Year
12
student
Angelli
found
the
'STEM
zone'
particularly
useful. She said; "Finding out about the range of options and opportunities available within Science and Engineering was really helpful. I'm now thinking about applying for work experience with some of the employers I spoke to." Many of the stalls were interactive, giving students the chance to sample differen t career roles in a fun and inspiring environment. Students left the exhibition armed with bags of leaflets and brochures about different career options and, hopefully, full of ideas about what they would like to do when they leave KAA.
23
BY ARA (8 FITZGERALD) This term I attended the Creates enrichmen t run by the National Citizenship Service (NCS). In Creates Club we learnt lots of new entrepreneurial skills such as how to make, market and sell a product. We took those skills and used them to make t-shirts. I made my t-shirt to support Cancer Research due to the fact I feel very strongly that more people need to know about the charity.
In Creates I learnt that even difficult tasks become easier when working in a team. One example of this is when we made chairs out of balloons and it actually worked! Next term we will pitch our product to NCS members and we will also sell our products. We are also going on a trip to visit a major brand and much more. You may be wondering why you will need entrepreneurial skills if you are not going to be an entrepreneur, but actually you will need it whether you are working in a corner shop or making games for Sony. You will always need entrepreneurial skills.
CAREERS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CREATES CLUB
YEAR 7 CREATES WORKSHOPS On Thursday 13th October our Year 7s attended Creates
workshops run by volunteers from G oldman Sachs. All of our new students attend these workshops each year to introduce them to en trepreneurial thinking and teamwork. Omarion (7 Murray) said “at the Creates workshop I learnt about teamwork and cooperating more.” Johara (7 Lewis) agreed, saying “it taught us to work tog ether and help your team mates.” Alannah (7 Holmes) added, “They taught us to communicate with each other. I think it was a really good opportunity and I enjoyed the workshop a lot.” As well as discussing team work and communication, the workshops were a chance for the Year 7s to ask the volunteers from Goldman Sachs about working for a world wide company. Omarion reported that “we asked the volunteers from Goldman Sachs how they run their business so well. They mentioned Intrepidus and determination.” Many thanks to the volunteers from Goldman Sachs for leading
another brilliant event for our students.
24
ENRICHMENT
What have we been doing in enrichment this term? By KATIE (8 HEPBURN) The School Magazine club has been searching the school
for a peek into the after school activities to report the range of enrichments on offer this term. Firstly we got to take a look in the theatre where we saw
the actors and actresses practicing for th e Christmas Panto. It was an intriguing sight to see the actors so engrossed in their new scripts! We were also able to see what is happening behind the doors of the compelling and thought-provoking science club, where we witnessed a peculiar toy ball being created. With this strange item you could bounce a ball of slime. It was quite satisfying to watch the participants being able to tear, play and bounce the ball.
Our group of reporters continued on to the harmonious knit and stitch club. It was amazingly tranquil - we took a gander around to see the c reativity being held in the student's hands. We do recommend many people join this
very imaginative club. There was music to our ears as we neared the orchestra club, where a variety of instruments were being played, including a flute, saxophone, piano and tambourine. The fifth enrichment we visited had more of an energetic
vibe to it. We witnessed the Boxercise club completing training exercises and sparring with each other - a great way to keep in shape! Next we dropped into Illustration Club, one of the most creative clubs we have come upon. The students in this activity have created some beautiful artwork. Focusing on the art you can do on a blank piece of paper is surely an inventive enrichment, certainly! The room is calm and relaxing after the energetic Boxercise class!
From one crea tive enrichment to another - in Minecraft club students present their creativity in a different way. Students are able to create buildings, monuments and even adventure all on a computer screen, with this game they can socialise with their friends and defeat certain monsters. Our final destination was the year twelves cooking club -
25
the aroma of the room is absolutely delicious and we wished we could stay longer to see the final preparation of the food!
‘Freedom to decide what you to learn and how you want to learn it’
CHRISTMAS STRETCH PROJECT
All students are expected to complete a stretch project over the Christmas break.
26
SIXTH FORM TRIP
MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE
BY MR BONEY From Tuesday 13th to Wednesday 14 th December an
amazing group of KAA Sixth Form students represented our school at the Model United Nations Conference, held at the International Maritime Organisation. This year’s conference theme was ‘Safe, Sustainable Seas’, and I have to say that our students did us very proud. It was a privilege to see our delegates representing Djibouti, Faroe Islands, Malaysia, Sweden and Sri Lanka demonstrate resilience as they advocated the merits of their position papers, and creativity to debate resolutions on Arctic and Pacific sustainability, children in piracy, maritime piracy and refugee migration. All of the research and study the team did with Miss Desmond in preparation for this year’s conference paid off and the group is already looking forward to the next conference! Congratulations must go to Yonis (12 Nightingale), Abdullahi (12 Maathai), Deloney (12 Wilberforce), Aleksandra (12 Tutu), Blen (12 Nightingale), Lucia (12 Roosev elt), Amir (12 Roosevelt), Nasra (12 Maathai) and Juan (12 Maathai) on being such admirable KAA ambassadors.
Further congratulations are in order for Abdulahi, whose overall excellence saw him voted the most distinguished delegate by his committee. Abir, Blen and Juan’s citizenship earned each of them awards for… um, let’s just say ‘decorum’.
27
BY CAALA (8 CHAPLIN) After travelling from London to Belgium via France, we finally arrived in Cologne exhausted but excited. Soon after unpacking and dinner we ventured out to our first Christmas market - Rudolfplatz. The buzzing market had a wide of variety of Christmas decorations, chocolate covered fruit and steaming hot chocolate.
Next morning, after filing onto the coach we arrived at the second Christmas market. Neumarkt offered personalised Christmas mugs and yet more hot chocolate. To get to our next destination we took th e very slow
LANGUAGES
GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS TRIP
Christmas market express. After a browse and a short ride on the mini Ferris wheel (providing elegant views of Cologne) we made Schokoladenmueseum.
our
way
to
the
Lindt
Left to explore the vast museum, we watched the process of manufacturing and wrapping chocolate. To end our visit to Lindt, we visited the gift shop full of tempting confectionery. Before getting back on the coach, we made a fleeting visit to the harbour Christmas market. Unfortunately our last day had arrived. We visited the stunning, gothic Cologne Cathedral, full of intricately designed stained glass windows. Ending our trip, we made a final stop at one
more Christmas market.
The trip was a fantastic opportunity for some of us to
visit Germany for the very first time and practice speaking German. Many thanks to Miss Davies for organising the trip, as well as Mr Kavanagh, Mr Miller, Miss Pedley, and Mr Curtis for joining us for the holiday.
28
SPORTS
KAA hosts RBKC Indoor Cricket Festival
On Monday 14 th November KAA hosted the annual RBKC indoor cricket festival, attended by Holland Park and Notting Hill Prep. The competition was based on a quick cricket format, which saw teams of 6, from both year 7 and 8, challenging each other to score the most runs in the allotted time. There was a real buzz of excitemen t throughout the tournamen t as
the teams battled for the cov eted first place medals. The standard of play was excellent from all students involved, which was commended by the Middlesex cricket coaches in attendance. KAA battled hard, with Captain Taif (8 Chaplin) our leading wicket taker, however it was Notting Hill Prep who proved deserving winners on the day. Well done to all those involved and we look forward to further competitions next term.
KAA scoops an award at the 2016 School Games Presentation Evening By Mr Campbell
On September 21 st Epic hosted the 2016 School Games and London Youth Games Presentation Evening. The event acknowledges young sports personalities and celebrates the achievemen ts of K ensington and Chelsea’s talented and inspiring sports heroes.
Mr Bernard proudly represented KAA alongside many other local schools. KAA were nominated for ‘Highest Placed Team’ and the ‘Recognition
29
Award’. Mr Bernard and a handful of KAA students waited anxiously as Epic announced the 6 other schools that were also nominated within the same category. The results was revealed and the award for the highest placed The former GB Olympian Donna Fraser awards KAA with their trophy. team in the borough went to KAA Year 8 boys for Sports Hall Athletics.
By Mr Hajjaj
Our Indoor London Rowing squad were rewarded for being crowned London Champions last summer with a trip to Surrey Quays Water Sport Centre to experience an on-water session this term.
It was a great experience for the squad, none of whom had experienced being in a rowing boat before. Some
SPORTS
Row for London Award Trip
were reluctant, nervous and feared the worst – falling in! The nerves quickly turned into excitement and joy and as a result they all managed to stay dry ensuring their journey home was comfortable. A huge congratulations to the team.
London Youth Rowing train our new Year 7 students
Since KAA’s opening in 2014 the PE department have established a
By Mr Bernard
long and successful partnership with London Youth Rowing (LYR). The aim is to introduce our students to this fun and engaging activity and our students have proved themselves to be excellent competitors; last year we were crowned champions of London. This term we invited LYR coach Lawrence to the academy for some taster sessions for year 7 and 8 students, to introduce the activity and identify potential KAA rowing team members. Students learnt how to use the equipment and the benefits of rowing, as well as the techniques to be successful.
The sessions were brilliant and we are hopeful that we will be able to successfully defend our crown next term.
30
Spring Term Parent Calendar Date Tuesday 3 January - Wednesday 4th January
Event Staff training days (school closed to students)
Thursday 5th January
Spring 1 term begins for all students
rd
th
th
Thursday 5 January - Friday 6 January Tuesday 10th January Thursday 12th January
Monday 23rd January - Friday 27th January Saturday 28th January Monday 30th January - Friday 3rd February Tuesday 31st January Monday 6th February - Friday 10th February Wednesday 8th February Friday 10th February
Monday 13th February - Monday 20th February Monday 20th February Tuesday 21st February Tuesday 28th February Friday 3rd March Monday 13th March - Friday 17th March Monday 13th March - Friday 17th March Monday 20th March - Friday 24th March Monday 20th March - Friday 24th March Wednesday 22nd March Monday 27th March - Friday 31st March Wednesday 29th March Friday 31st March
Y12 Assessment Point 2 (All Subjects) Y7 Progress Meeting 5pm – 7.30pm Meet the Principal Evening for prospective Sixth Form students 6pm - 7pm KS3 Spring 1 Revision Week (English/Maths/Science) ‘Lesser known degrees’ Y12 Seminar at Godolphin & Latymer 9am - 2pm KS3 Spring 1 Assessment Week (English/Maths/Science) Y12 Parents Evening 6.30pm - 8pm KS3 Review Week (English/Maths/Science) House Music Competition Whole School Awards Assembly 2pm - 3pm Spring Half Term Holiday Staff training day (school closed to students) Spring 2 term begins for all students Y9 Options Evening 5pm - 7.30pm World Book Day Author Visit KS3 Spring 2 Revision Week (All Subjects) National Science & Engineering Week KS3 Spring 2 Assessment Week (All Subjects) Y12 Assessment Point 3 (All Subjects) Spring Music Concert with A Level Music exam performances 6.30pm - 8pm KS3 Spring 2 Review Week
Monday 3rd April - Tuesday 18th April
House Debating Competition Whole School Awards Assembly 11am - 12.30pm Students finish school at 12.30pm Easter Holiday
Tuesday 18th April Wednesday 19th April
Staff training day (school closed to students) Summer 1 term begins for all students
Photograph by Yusra (9 Simmons) - an entry for the House Art & Design competition in Autumn 1