THE OFFICIAL KENSINGTON ALDRIDGE ACADEMY MAGAZINE
# 1 9 AU T U M N 2 0 2 1
PIANIST JANUS WINS 2021 KAA’S GOT TALENT
AUTUMN OF ARTS
CHRISTMAS PANTO GETS STANDING OVATION!
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IN THIS ISSUE OF
CONTENTS Principal’s Welcome Food Bank Appeal Black History Month Multi-Cultural Day European Languages Week Wembley England Game 2021-2022 House Cup
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Interim House Football Interim Planking Competition Interim TikTok Quiz Interim Community Challenge House Art & Design Interim Sixth Form Cook Off Interim Basketball & Netball Interim Costume Design Interim Christmas Card Design House Music
9 9 10 10 11-12 13 14 14 14 15-16
Performing & Creative Arts Aldridge Junior Art Prize Workshops & Performances KAA’s Got Talent Christmas Panto Arts Partnerships Theatre Trips
Parent Calendar
17 17-18 19-21 22 23-24 25 26
Dear Parents & Carers, A school should be so much more than just lessons and exams, and this edition of INTREPIDUS really speaks to this. Whether it be Multicultural Day, House Competitions, or the School Panto, the magazine should give you a flavour of the rich learning and experiences our students get beyond the classroom. Taken together, this helps them grow into more confident, capable young people, which is why we value this side of KAA so much.
I want to thank you for all the encouragement and support you have given your children to participate in the activities detailed here. We couldn’t do this without you. And if your child hasn’t taken up many of these opportunities, perhaps this edition of INTREPIDUS will inspire them to do so in the spring. Next term will bring many more events, so watch this space. Thanks for everything you have done this term, and have a lovely, restful holiday.
Back page David Benson Principal
@KensingtonAldridgeAcademy
@KAA_Intrepidus @kaa_intrepidus
Thanks to local business The Flowered Corner for the wonderful Christmas Tree on display in our reception this Christmas!
From Monday 6 th December until Thursday 16th December our Heads of House ran KAA’s food bank charity drive, collecting goods for local food banks in the run up to the winter holidays. After the success of last year’s debut, we have added the food bank collection as an annual event in the school calendar to help support those in need in our local community.
We were proud to have supported 5 different local food banks and trusts. Students, staff, and parents donated non-perishable foods and domestic goods for local food banks including The Trussell Trust, The Dalgarno Trust, and North Kensington Community Kitchen. After another successful collection drive this year, Ms Nix arranged for the boxed donations to be delivered to our local community food banks. In total, the KAA community donated a van load of boxes this year. Our thanks to Ms Nix for organising the collection, and to every student, parent and staff member who donated. Our particular thanks to Wimbledon Hill Waitrose for another generous donation to the appeal this year.
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BLACK HISTORY MONTH
This October’s Black History Month held our fullest calendar of activities ever, led by Ms Osman, the academy’s BAME curriculum lead. Throughout October students enjoyed bake sales, guest speakers, movie nights, and tutor time educational discussions on the History of the Notting Hill carnival, Race & Sports, and Race & Entertainment. From Monday 8th October to Friday 12th October each house heard a Black History Month assembly exploring the importance of Black British history, delivered by Ms Osman, Ms Ahmed, and students Hanna (13 Roosevelt) and Razan (13 Tubman). Mr Pepple hosted a Black History Month movie night every Monday after school throughout October. Staff and students watched A United Kingdom, Belle, Half of a Yellow Sun, and The Last Tree. On Friday 8th and Friday 22nd October the African Caribbean Society hosted a bake sale to raise money for a charity supporting those from BAME backgrounds. On Friday 8th October they raised £103 for ACLT, a charity dedicated to raising awareness of the severe shortage of donors on the UK Stem Cell, Blood and Organ Donor register. On Wednesday 13th October Michael Workeye, star of TV and films including 'Big Age', 'Sitting in Limbo', and 'Brothers' visited for our second guest seminar. On Wednesday 20th October we welcomed the hosts of Brown Sugar Podcast for our final guest speaker lecture.
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Our thanks to all the staff and students involved in making Black History Month a success across the school.
MULTICULTURAL DAY
BY MISS OSMAN Our African Caribbean Society (ACS) representatives, Hanna (13 Roosevelt) and Razan (13 Tubman), continued their great work in the autumn 2 term, running a multicultural day for sixth form on Thursday 16th December. This involved members of ACS and other sixth formers coming to school in their traditional and cultural dress and representing their diverse backgrounds and roots. It was a hugely successful day and the students took full advantage of coming together to celebrate each other's cultures. During the session they went round the room to share their backgrounds and talk about what they were wearing, it was wonderful to see our students supporting and appreciating one another. They had a couple of activities which involved pinning where they are from on a world map to highlight the diversity we have here at KAA, and also writing down the languages they speak. The morning ended with them enjoying a range of Afro -Caribbean music with dancing and singing and getting everyone involved - a real show of cultural expression! To top off the day they ran a bake/traditional food sale, raising over £80 for the National Emergency Trust. The sixth formers have had truly inclusive day and I know that they all appreciated being able to express themselves and represent their cultures to the school. I look forward to future events like this!
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EUROPEAN LANGUAGES WEEK
The Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) department celebrated European Languages Day in September with a week of competitions and activities from Monday 27th September to Friday 1st October. Activities included a language treasure hunt, Spanish, French and German movie nights, a France vs Germany football match on the MUGA, Mandarin and Spanish master classes, and a careers talk on where languages can take you.
The highlight of the week was the Eurovision KAA, hosted by Ms Hahnefeld and aired during tutor time each day, during which students were given facts about each country followed by a song in the European language. In episode one, Mr Alberto represented his native Spain, singing Bailando by Enrique Inglasis. Next up Ms Pedley represented Iceland, singing Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros, and Ms Williams represented her home country Wales, brandishing a saucepan to sing the Welsh folk song Sosban Fach. Episode two featured Mr Sampson representing Austria, playing Mozart’s Piano Sonata No.11 in A Major on the piano, Ms Iuzic representing her native Romania with Dragostea Din Tei by Ozone, and Mr Biggs donning the German flag, electric guitar and balloons to sing 99 Luftballons. The third episode featured Ms Estivals representing her native France, Ms Essien presenting England with the song You’re the Reason by Callum Scott, and Ms Cockell singing the Italian opera song Sed tu Mami. On the final day of Eurpoean Languages week students voted for their favourite acts, and Mr Biggs was crowned the winner of our first Eurovision Song Contest!
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Congratulations to Mr Biggs, KAA Eurovision Song Contest winner 2021!
You can watch all the episodes of Eurovision KAA at https://tinyurl.com/2p8kpwsa
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SPORTS On Tuesday 12th October, four of our lucky students were invited to attend the England vs Hungary World Cup qualifier football match at Wembley Stadium, thanks to tickets donated by Sir Rod Aldridge. The cast ran dance, drama and writing workshops
The four students were selected by the PE department as a reward for their effort and excellence in PE lessons in the Autumn 1 term. Hanna (8 Kassovitz), Yasmin (8 Kassovitz), Georgie (7 Simone) and Siraj (7 Simone) were accompanied by Mr Macdonald and Ms Duers. Before the match, the students enjoyed a dinner in the Bobby Moore restaurant. Their seats in the stadium were right by the pitch with a fantastic view of the game. After an early penalty put Hungary ahead in the 24th minute, England levelled the score with a John Stones goal in the 37th minute, scored from a Phil Foden free kick via Declan Rice. Though England dominated possession for the remainder of the game, the match ended in a 1-1 tie. Our huge thanks to Sir Rod Aldridge for providing this amazing experience for our aspiring footballers!
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The start of a new academic year means another year of competitions for this year’s house cup. Led by Ms Nix (Head of Angelou), Mr Bell (Head of Franklin), Ms Kruk (Head of Honeyball) and Ms Bullock (Head of Pankhurst), the house system is back this year bigger and better than ever before! Will Pankhurst finally secure their second house cup win following their only first place finish in the school’s very first year? Can Angelou become the first house to win the house cup in two consecutive years? Or will Franklin or Honeyball become the first house to win the house cup three times? House competitions are advertised to students by their Form Tutors during Tutor Time, via House Assemblies from their form tutors, and on their Google classroom for their house. If you’re not sure how you can get involved, ask your Form Tutor or Head of House at the beginning of term. Parents can follow all the latest house competition news on our website and social media channels. What follows in the next pages is a summary of the house system at KAA for new parents, a full run down of the house competition this term, and an update on the current house points totals.
KAA HOUSE POINTS EXPLAINED... Major House Competitions (1 per half term) 1st = 20,000 points 2nd -= 15,000 points 3rd = 10,000 points 4th = 5,000 points Interim House Competitions (4-6 per half term) 1st = 5,000 points 2nd = 3,750 points 3rd = 2,500 points 4th = 1,250 points House Attendance (awarded once per half term) 1st = 5,000 points 2nd = 3,750 points 3rd = 2,500 points 4th = 1,250 points Merits & Commendations (can be earned by students at any time) Gold Merit = 200 points Silver Merit = 50 points Commendation (5 merits) = 5 points Academic Awards Academic excellence and resilience awards are given to students who have shown these core values in their lessons and end of term assessments. The winner of each award earns 150 points for their house and will be given a certificate in the end of term assembly to bring home with them.
Intrepidus Badge At the end of each year we award the Intrepidus Badge to one boy and one girl in each year group. The winners are students who are nominated by their teachers for embodying the values of Intrepidus in everything they do. This is the most prestigious award in the academy and the winners are given a badge to wear on their blazer for the rest of their school career.
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Keep up with current House System news on the KAA Video YouTube channel and KAA Online. Each student has access to their house Google Classroom via KAA Online.
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
ANGELOU Named for: Maya Angelou Maya Angelou overcame racism, abuse and poverty to win a scholarship to study dance. She went on to become a world famous poet, novelist, actor, dancer and singer. She was also, and importantly, a key activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Head of House: Ms E Nix Previous cup wins: 2016-17, 2020-21 Angelou Forms: 7 Taylor, 7 Knowles, 8 Evaristo, 8 Kassovitz, 9 Fibonacci, 9 Lovelace, 10 Graham, 10 Wetenbaker, 11 Tambo, 11 Yousafzai, 12/13 Attlee, 12/13 Fry, 12/13 Ibrahim
FRANKIN Named for: Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Franklin made critical contributions to the understanding of the molecular structure of DNA but was never credited for the discovery. She was a trailblazer for women in science and many believe she should have won a Nobel prize for her contribution to the discovery of DNA. She also grew up very near to KAA in Notting Hill. Head of House: Mr H Bell Previous Cup Wins: 2017-18, 2019-20 Franklin Forms: 7 Simone, 7 Omari, 8 Kafka, 8 Smith, 9 Euler, 9 Fermat, 10 Hansberry, 10 Stoppard, 11 Hume, 11 Jones, 12/13 Ebadi, 12/13 Nightingale, 12/13 Roosevelt.
HONEYBALL Named for: Nettie Honeyball Nettie Honeyball led the creation of women’s football in England. In 1894 Honeyball placed an advert in the local press and persuaded about 30 young women to join the British Ladies Football Club, the first known women’s football association. She is a role model to all female athletes the world over, demonstrating the equality of the sexes in the field of sport. Head of House: Ms N Kruk Previous Cup Wins: 2015-16, 2018-19 Honeyball Forms: 7 Bassey, 7 Wonder, 8 Lorca, 8 Muller, 9 Turing, 9 Gauss, 10 Parker, 10 Gupta, 11 Bonhoffer, 11 Truth, 12/13 Maathai, 12/13 Tubman, 12/13 Wilberforce
PANKHURST Named for: Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist, remembered for organising the UK suffragette movement and helping women win the right to vote in Britain in the early 1900s. As well as the right to vote, Pankhurst and the Women’s Party (WSPU) campaigned for equal marriage laws, equal pay for equal work, and equal job opportunities for women. Head of House: Ms N Kruk Previous Cup Wins: 2014-15 Pankhurst Forms: 7 Mason, 7 Armstrong, 8 Almodovar, 8 Slimani, 9 Mirzakhani, 9 Reason, 10 Beckett, 10 Pinter, 11 Carter, 11 Tatchell, 12/13 Gladstone, 12/13 Sirleaf, 12/13 Tutu
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Interim Planking Competition The first interim competition of the Autumn 1 term saw staff and students battle it out, testing their physical endurance in a brand new interim competition - planking. The contest was enjoyed by the whole school out in the playground across two lunch time breaks on Thursday 23rd September and Friday 24th September (pictured right). The competition was so tight in the staff and sixth form competitions on day one that the finalists had to compete again the next day so the judges could determine the winners! In the competition for years 7 to 11, Franklin & Honeyball finished in first place, the Sixth Form competition was won by Pankhurst, and Franklin were victorious in the staff contest. Overall Franklin and Pankhurst we placed in joint first, winning 5,000 house points a piece. Honeyball finished in third, winning 2,500 house points, and Angelou finished fourth, collecting 1,250 house points. Interim Planking = 1st FRANKLIN = 1st PANKHURST 3rd HONEYBALL 4th ANGELOU
TikTok Quiz 1st PANKHURST = 2nd ANGELOU = 2nd FRANKLIN 4th HONEYBALL
Interim TikTok Quiz Our second interim competition was another brand new competition added this year. The TikTok House Quiz took place on Thursday 30th September and Friday 1st October in the theatre at lunch time. The highly anticipated quiz drew a large and excited crowd to watch their teams compete. Students answered trivia questions about the social media platform, ranging from facts about its origin & founders to viewing numbers for its most watched clips.
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The total scores across the lower school and sixth form teams were added together to calculate the overall winners. Pankhurst collected another 5,000 point prize for first place, Angelou and Franklin tied for second winning 3,750 points each, and Honeyball finished fourth and earned 1,250 house points.
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
Interim House Football
At the end of October boys and girls from years 7 to 13 competed in the interim house 5 a side football competition during after school tournaments on the MUGA and Westway pitches. Teams played each of the other three house and were awarded 3 points for a win and 1 point for each draw. The final totals for all the tournaments for each year group were added together to calculate the overall winners - Angelou were first in the girls’ competition and Honeyball and Pankhurst drew in first place in the boys’ tournament. Girls’ Football 1st ANGELOU 2nd FRANKLIN 3rd HONEYBALL 4th PANKHURST
Community Challenge
Boys’ Football = 1st HONEYBALL = 1st PANKHURST 3rd ANGELOU 4th FRANKLIN
Our final interim competition of the half term was a community challenge to practice one of our four core values: citizenship. Students were asked to create letters & cards for residents at a local nursing home and post them in the collection boxes at the school reception.
Community Challenge 1st FRANKLIN 2nd HONEYBALL 3rd ANGELOU 4th PANKHURST
Students created an incredible 269 letters, stories, drawings, and cards! The letters were delivered to the residents of Princess Louise of Kensington Nursing Home by Ms Kruk on Friday 8th October. These letters and cards have brightened the day of hundreds of residents of the nursing home and supported our local community. Competition places were awarded based on the number of letters created by each house as a community, with Franklin in first place at 95 letters, including this beautifully illustrated one (pictured left).
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The major house competition of the Autumn 1 term was Art & Design. Students were tasked with creating two or more puppets from a folk story and creating a video. Students worked together after school on Fridays at the house competition enrichment to create their puppets and films with their Heads of House. On Thursday 21st October the final films were premiered in the theatre to a special audience of lucky “golden ticket” winners. Students were awarded a ticket by their Head of House for their excellence & ‘intrepidus’ during half term. The lucky ticket winners in the audience were given snacks to enjoy during the exclusive first screening of each of the four films. The Angelou entry is based on an Indian folktale called “Sun, Wind and Moon Go Out to Dinner” and was created by the amazingly creative Dominick, Sarah, Julia, Lara, Grace and Mia (all from 7 Knowles). The Franklin film was based on the Japanese folk tale “The Mirror of Matsuyama” and was created by Candice (7 Omari), Arthur (7 Simone), Haris (8 Smith), Indigo (9 Euler), Patricia and Sophia (9 Fermat). The Honeyball video was created by Taha, Janna and Marwa from 7 Wonder; Natan and Amarna from 7 Bassey; Freddie, Danica and Sumayyah from 8 Muller; and Shabnam and Salma from 9 Turing. They chose to retell the Nigerian folktale “Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky”. Finally, the Pankhurst entry told the Chinese folk story “The Four Dragons” and was created by Gianna (7 Mason), Ibuku (9 Reason), and Fatmata, Anna and Hannah from 9 Mirzakhani).
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Our huge thanks to Ms Parker and Ms Taylor for coordinating the house competition and judging in the finals. Their final decision on the results were revealed to the whole school in tutor time on Friday 22nd October, with Pankhurst winning the 20,000 house points for first place, Franklin taking second place, and Honeyball and Angelou placing joint 3rd for 10,000 house points. With the major house competition results added to the commendations, merits, attendance and interim competition points, PANKHURST finished the Aut1 term in the lead with 50,285 points. Congratulations Pankhurst house!
Students presenting their house entries for the House Art competition premiere
Watch the Franklin video at https://youtu.be/-mMlzSGC_bQ
Watch the Angelou video at https://youtu.be/8lL9TndNCXY
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
AUTUMN 1 2021 MAJOR COMPETITION HOUSE ART & DESIGN 1st PANKHURST 2nd FRANKLIN = 3rd ANGELOU = 3rd HONEYBALL
Watch the Honeyball video at https://youtu.be/mC4TAg7bZhg
Watch the Pankhurst video at https://youtu.be/pGnIuyLbQxI
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Ready, Steady, Cook! On Tuesday 16th November, the DT department hosted a interim “Cook Off” house competition for Sixth Form. Each house was asked to make two dishes using ten compulsory ingredients and one special ingredient they could choose themselves, ranging from king prawns to raspberries. Despite some setbacks, each house pulled off two exquisite dishes.
Students provided the judges with 8 exceptional dishes so it was very close competition and the DT department was extremely impressed with the creativity and resilience shown with so few ingredients! Well done to all our sixth form chefs, but particularly Ella (12 Nightingale) and Rom (13 Roosevelt) on the Franklin team, who were awarded first place by the judges for their prawn tempura and caramelised sweet potato side.
Ready, Steady, Cook! 1st FRANKLIN 2nd ANGELOU 3rd PANKHURST 4th HONEYBALL
BY MISS AGULLANO
Franklin made rice with prawn tempura and aubergine with a caramelised sweet potato side.
Angelou created a mixed spice chicken and rice dish and a light cinnamon rice pudding with homemade raspberry jam
Pankhurst created an egg fried rice and vanilla coca-cola cake with a raspberry coulis.
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Honeyball cooked a sweet and sticky glazed chicken with rice and a chocolate fondant
On Thursday 10th December students submitted their costume designs for the drama department’s interim competition. Congratulations to Emma (9 Turing) who won the top prize and 5,000 points for Honeyball with a score of 14/15. Sophia and Patricia (9 Fermat) and Anamika (8 Slimani) tied in second place with 13/15 points, earning 3,750 house points for Franklin and Pankhurst. The fourth place design was created by Mia (7 Knowles) who scored 9/15 and collected 1,250 house points for Angelou. Basketball & Netball In December, our basketball and netball interim competitions saw teams compete within their year groups across a mini tournament. Houses were awarded 4 points for 1st place, 3 points for 2nd place, 2 points for 3rd place and 1 point for 4th place in each year. The points for each house were then totalled to determine the overall winner of the competition, well done to Pankhurst, Franklin & Honeyball for joint wins in both netball and basketball!
Boys’ Basketball 1st PANKHURST & FRANKLIN 3rd ANGELOU 4th HONEYBALL Girls’ Netball 1st PANKHURST & HONEYBALL 3rd ANGELOU & FRANKLIN MFL Christmas Cards 1st HONEYBALL 2nd ANGELOU 3rd PANKHURST 4th FRANKLIN
MFL Christmas Card Design Our annual Christmas Card competition, hosted by the Modern Foreign Languages department, saw students create festive cards in other languages. The overall winners were Honeyball with a huge 244 amazing entries! The top design was a Russian card designed by Anastasiia (7 Taylor), Isla (8 Smith) created a German card in second place and Ousmani (7 Franklin) illustrated a French card (all pictured above).
Costume Design 1st HONEYBALL 2nd FRANKLIN & PANKHURST 4th ANGELOU
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
Costume Design
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The major house competition of the Autumn 2 term was House Music! Special guest judge Cerys Matthews, founding member of number one selling 1990s alternative rock band Catatonia, joined us for the finals on Tuesday 14th December. This year each house was randomly assigned a specific decade (or decades) in which to choose songs to perform as a medley. The decade and genre were selected at random from a hat by their Head of House at the beginning of term. In the final performances, houses performed in chronological order in front of an audience of Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 students throughout the day.
Thanks to our judges (left to right): Cerys Matthews, Ms Cockell, Ms Sandford & Mr Clayton
Up first was Pankhurst house representing the 1960s and 1970s. They chose to perform a medley of Motown classics, including My Girl by the Temptations and Stop in the Name of Love by the Supremes. Special shout out to soloists Anna (9 Mirzakhani), Gabriel (10 Beckett), Lyric (13 Tutu)! Honeyball were up next with their 1980s, singing I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston, Radio Ga Ga by Queen and (I've Had) The Time of My Life from the 80s film Dirty Dancing. Well done to Noah (7 Wonder), Danielle (9 Turing) and Irene (10 Parker) for taking on the solos. Angelou had picked the 1990s and performed the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme and I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys, with solos from Imaan (8 Almodovar), Charlotte (7 Taylor) and Mabel (7 Taylor). The performance got the crowd singing along throughout!
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Franklin finished the show with their “year 2000” mash up of Eminem’s Real Slim Shady, Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men, Body Bumpin’ by Public Announcement and Same My Name by Destiny’s Child. This performance was undoubtedly an audience favourite in the finals! The students singing the lead vocals for Same My Name - Hannah (12 Roosevelt), Sina (10 Stoppard) and Prudence (10 Hansberry) were praised by the judges for their impressive vocals. Ella (9 Euler) was also praised for leading on Who Let the Dogs Out and Keishin (9 Fermat) smashed the performance intro!
Franklin’s winning “Year 2000” performance!
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
The quality of performances was fantastic Cerys Matthews even told students that the show outshone other competitions she had judged at local schools! Our huge thanks to Mr Rigby and the music department, the Heads of House and of course every student performer for their hard work putting together such a fantastic show!
Angelou’s sparkle-filled 1990s entry
After a finale of a Christmas sing-along to Last Christmas by Wham, the judges withdrew to tally their scores and make a final decision. However, students had to wait until the End of Term assemblies on Friday 17th December to find out the results! Franklin proved to be both an audience and judges’ favourite and took the top spot, earning 20,000 house points for first place. The judge could not separate Angelou and Pankhurst, who came out of the scoring process with matching scores and shared second place, each earning 15,000 house points. Honeyball earnt 5,000 house points for fourth place.
Honeyball’s dance inspired 1980s show
The major house competition was the final score to be added to the house points total for the end of Autumn 2 totals, and the final results were incredibly close!
After a successful run of interim house competitions and strong results in attendance and commendations, Pankhurst just managed to beat out Franklin house by 1,175 points, leading with 100,825 points at the end of Autumn 2! It’s also incredibly close between third and fourth place, with Angelou just 8,035 points behind Honeyball. With 20,000 points on offer for the winners of House Dance in the Spring 1 and House Drama in Spring 2, we can’t wait to see how the House Cup race unfolds next term! Pankhurst’s 1960s & 1970s Motown medley
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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
We reported in our last issue that 88 young people aged 14-18 from across the family of Aldridge schools and colleges submitted entries to the Aldridge Junior Signature Art Prize in December 2020, and KAA’s own Hanna (13 Roosevelt) had been shortlisted in the Fine Art category for her painting “Liza Mahu” (pictured right). Artellite’s Signature Art Prize is the only award of its kind that aims to promote the work of artists in the emerging stages of their careers. Drawing attention to the unique perspective of students and recent graduates, it celebrates and identifies emerging artists’ ‘Signature Style’. Following the announcement of the shortlisted artists at the beginning of the year, students had been eagerly waiting to find out who had won in each of the categories: Fine Art, Photography, Textiles & Graphics. After being delayed considerably due to changing Covid guidelines, the exhibition and awards ceremony finally took place at the Bankside Hotel in London, on 23rd September 2021 and we’re thrilled to announce that KAA’s Hanna (13 Roosevelt) was awarded winner of both the Fine Art category and the overall winner. Hanna’s win has secured her an internship with Artellite. Hanna’s win is KAA’s second consecutive win in both the Fine Art and overall win at the Aldridge Junior Art Prize. Following the announcement, Hanna said “It was a completely new concept to me that other people enjoyed my work as I had never shared my art outside of the classroom before. I felt very proud of myself.” Hanna also took the time to explain more about how her painting was created. She said: “I created this piece in the summer of 2020, amidst the uproar and outrage of George Floyd's death, which sparked protests globally. During the London protests, I noticed how many people responded to the outcry of the BAME community by simply ignoring and dismissing the very real issue of racism and discrimination within the UK.”
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“I wanted to create a piece which drew light to how black and mixed ethnic citizens of the UK were ignored, uncared for and treated as second hand citizens. However, instead of
Hanna with the winners of the Photography, Textiles and Graphics prizes at the Aldridge Junior Art Prize exhibition
Hanna with her winning painting at the art gallery perpetuating the same, disheartening message I instead wanted to highlight the beauty and ethereal nature of BAME people, by celebrating our uniqueness, resilience and excellence. I called the piece 'Liza Mahu' after the African Sun Gods - Mahu and Liza, who are the twin children of Nana Buluku. It represents, sunlight, hope and serenity.” Hanna is now finishing her final year of A Levels and making applications to study an Art Foundation next year. She hopes to study at University of the Arts London (UAL) or Kingston University. We look forward to seeing more of Hanna’s stunning and thought provoking work this year and beyond as she develops as an artist and painter. The Photography category was won by Lauren from Darwen Aldridge Academy, the Textiles category was won by Mai, also from Darwen Aldridge Academy, and the Graphics category was won by Rodney from Dukes Aldridge Academy. You can view the artwork submitted across all four categories on the Aldridge Education website.
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
On Tuesday 12th October all of our PCA scholars were treated to a TV and Film workshop from an acting agency called Scarlett and Co. Students were given tips and expertise around auditioning for acting work in TV and film. The agents were really impressed with the monologues and duologues that our scholars performed, many of who had learnt them off by heart for the occasion. The agents then led two improvisation workshops with a Year 7 and Year 8 class. Students were highly engaged and loved the activities. Both classes asked when the next workshop was going to be!!
On Friday 12th November Year 10 GCSE Drama students took part in a 2 hour workshop with the theatre company Frantic Assembly.
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Frantic Assembly are a physical theatre company who devise their own work, working with contemporary playwrights to bring their ideas to the stage. Students explored a range of devising techniques and had to devise their own piece of work to a stimulus. Students thoroughly enjoyed the experience, particularly learning how to perform lifts safely. This workshop will aid them with crucial devising skills they will need during the GCSE and into A level.
Santana Sessions delivered some fantastic Brazilian Drumming Workshops to two music classes for the entirety of the autumn term. 8P and 9N enjoyed 6 weeks of drumming on genuine Brazilian drums that Marcos and Edgar kindly brought to KAA every week. These included the tambourine, Surdo and GoGo bells. Students learned Samba Reggae and Samba Rio De Janeiro patterns. Their hard work culminated in a performance at the Tabernacle theatre on Saturday 11th December in celebration of the Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown who was also Marcos’ teacher.
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
Musicians at KAA enjoyed several weeks of rehearsals with professionals from Youth Action Alliance in the autumn term.
Students worked on solos, band pieces, and some musical theatre numbers. They performed brilliantly at the Chelsea Theatre on Saturday 4th December alongside students from St Thomas Moore.
Their hard work across the term paid off with an extremely pleased and proud audience of parents and other professional musicians.
On the 8th December the GCSE Year 10 dancers were treated to an intensive workshop run by Boy Blue Entertainment. This is a dance company that the students will study in depth theoretically, so it was brilliant for them to explore it practically. Yolanda, who stars in the GCSE set work ‘Emancipation of Expressionism’, put the dancers through their paces throughout the two hours. The dancers worked incredibly hard and were challenged in the session. All of them came away tired but inspired!
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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS 21
On Wednesday 10th November, our entire Year 8 cohort took part in KAA’s first ever Performing & Creative Arts (PCA) “drop down” day. Students spent a full day in performing arts workshops instead of their usual timetabled lessons. The theme for the day was ‘KAA’s Winter Carnival’. Students took part in a variety of externally lead performing and creative art workshops based around this theme. The workshops included learning to play the steel pans, salsa dancing, carnival make up application, and creating carnival costumes! It was great to see the whole year group really immerse themselves in the experience and we hope their passion and creativity for the arts continues throughout their time here at KAA. We look forward now to the Year 9 drop down day on Friday 25th February 2022.
Many students auditioned to take part in this year’s talent show, but the successful finalists were: pianist Janus (13 Sirleaf), singer Charlotte (7 Taylor), singer Rami (7 Taylor), gymnast Anastasiia (7 Taylor), dancers Danielle (9 Turing) and Anna (9 Euler), actor Julia (8 Almodovar), violinist Troy (13 Wilberforce) and comedian Ibuku (9 Reason). Congratulations to our 2021 winner, Janus (13 Sirleaf) for his piano performance! Janus’s name will now join the previous winners on the much coveted KAA’s Got Talent shield. All money raised from ticket sales were used to purchase donations for our food bank charity drive, helping those in need in our local community.
1st Place Janus (13 Sirleaf) - Pianist
Video highlights of all the acts will be posted to our YouTube channel soon!
2nd Place Danielle (9 Turing) & Anna (9 Euler) - Dance duet
3rd Place (Joint) Julia (8 Almodovar) - Actor Anastasiia (7 Taylor) - Gymnastics
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
On Tuesday 30th November we held the much anticipated final of KAA’s Got Talent 2021 in our theatre, with nine acts from Year 7-13 competing for the title. This year’s final was very close, with acts ranging from stand-up comedy to rhythmic gymnastics!
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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
Over 70 students in years 7 to 13 have been rehearsing for the Christmas panto in after school enrichment since September. On Thursday 16th December over 250 guests enjoyed the production of Peter Pan! A HUGE well done to the leading actors, who pulled off the comedic script wonderfully; Salma (9 Turing) as Peter Pan, Shabnam (9 Turing) as Wendy, Elena (9 Gauss) as Captain Hook, Freddie (8 Muller) as John Darling, Indigo (7 Knowles) as Michael Darling, Gabriel (10 Beckett) as Nanny McSmee, Ibukunoluwa (9 Reason) as Smee, Anastasisa (7 Taylor) as Tinker, Ysabella (7 Omari) as Bell, Ayla (8 Evaristo) as Mrs Darling, Saoirse (10 Beckett) as Tootles, Isabelle (9 Reason) as Nibs and Dominick (7 Knowles) as Slightly. The show also included performances from KAA’s Brass Band, Choir, Intrepidus Dance Company and the KAA Band! There were also cameos from staff members Mr Bernard, Mr Edwards, Ms Bullock, Mr Biggs, and Tilly the school dog as Nana! The full cast were sensational from start to finish and received a standing ovation at their curtain call. For those that weren’t able to secure a ticket for the show, a full recording of the panto will be made available online after the Christmas break. Our thanks to director Ms Redford, and the performing arts department, for their hard work getting the students show-ready.
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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
BY MR DUNNING
Throughout the Autumn term, the KAA Performing Arts department have developed a new partnership with Arts Ed School in Chiswick, one of the leading performing arts schools in the UK, providing students at KAA with the chance to learn and work alongside industry professionals. Over the October half term four of our students were lucky enough to receive scholarships to Arts Ed three day ‘Acting and Musical Theatre’ camp where they got to learn how to act for stage and screen as well as learn a song and dance from two West End Musicals. In addition to this, two of our Year 10 & 11 students have successfully auditioned for Arts Ed National Theatre ‘Connections’ Project and will be working with Arts Ed towards their performance at The Lyric Hammersmith in April.
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Throughout the Autumn term, Year 5 students from Avondale Park Primary School took part in a series of sessions with the performing and creative arts departments to build upon their project of The Great, The Bold and The Brave. Students had the chance to create mosaics in Art, design a coat of arms in DT and even learn about Greek theatre in Drama. We hope to continue to build upon these partnerships and extend them out to other local primary schools in the Spring and Summer term. Hopefully inspiring students to join KAA and become the next lead actor or actress for our upcoming productions!
The KAA dance department started their academic year with an inspiring theatre trip the first week of term! On the 3rd September, after just their first day in sixth form, the A Level dancers went to see Singin’ in the Rain at Sadler’s Wells theatre! It was a fantastic opportunity for them to see one of their set works from the A Level course live. A highlight for all was the iconic song Singin’ in the Rain with a real downpour on stage! On the 30th September, Performing Arts scholars in years seven and eight were invited to a performance of Message in a Bottle at Saldler’s Wells theatre. The contemporary dance masterpiece is set to songs by Sting and follows the story of a family fleeing from their home. The students were in awe of the performance and had a great understanding of the story told through dance. Many of the students who attended the performance were inspired to then join Intrepidus Dance Company to find more opportunities to perform! On Friday 3rd December, students participating in KAA’s Christmas Pantomime Peter Pan visited The Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith to see another classis pantomime, Aladdin. Plenty of fun was had by staff and students alike, and students came out of the auditorium with a buzz of excitement. The performance has inspired the students to take their own pantomime performance to the next level. The group also benefitted from a fantastic workshop after the show with an industry director. Students developed their vocal and physical skills with a focus on exaggeration. It was great to see the students’ confidence develop in these areas, and their passion for performance continues. The cast’s newly-developed skills shone through their characterisation in the Christmas production on Thursday 16th December.
PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS
BY MISS REDFORD
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Spring Term Parent Calendar Date Monday 20th December - Tuesday 4th January
Event Christmas Holiday
Time -
Wednesday 5th January Wednesday 5th January - Friday 7th January Thursday 6th January
Spring 1 term begins for all students Y12 & Y13 Assessment Point Y11 Mock Results Parents’ Evening
8.30am 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Monday 10th January
Y7-Y11 Nasal Flu Vaccinations (for students with consent)
All day
Thursday 20th January
Y9 GCSE Options Parents’ Evening
5.00pm - 7.00pm
Thursday 27th January
Y7 Parents’ Evening
4.30pm - 7.30pm
Monday 7th February - Friday 11th February
Y11 French & German Mock Speaking Exams
-
Tuesday 8th February
Y11 Drama NEA
9.00am - 1.20pm
Thursday 10th February
House Dance Finals
9.00am - 3.50pm
Thursday 10th February
Y11 Parents’ Evening
4.30pm - 7.30pm
Monday 14th February - Friday 18th February Friday 25th February
Spring Half Term Holiday Y9 Performing Arts Drop Down Day
8.30am - 3pm
Monday 28th February - Friday 11th March
Y11 March Mock Exams (all subjects)
-
Friday 4th March
Y13 Drama NEA
9.00am - 1.20pm
Monday 14th March - Friday 18th March
Y13 March Mock Exams (all subjects)
-
Thursday 17th March Monday 21st March - Friday 25th March Tuesday 29th March
Y10 Parents’ Evening Y7 - Y10 Spring Term Assessment Week Y13 Dance NEA
4.30pm - 7.30pm 9.00am - 3.50pm
Wednesday 30th March
House Dance Finals
9.00am - 3.50pm
Thursday 31st March
Y11 Dance NEA
9.00am - 3.50pm
Thursday 31st March
Y11 Crunch Time Parents’ Evening
6.00pm - 7.00pm
Friday 1st April Monday 4th April - Monday 18th April
Final Day of Spring Term (half day) Easter Holiday
8.30am - 12.30pm -
