Newmarket Academy
-The Bulletin April 2016
It is Rocket Science.......
ewmarket Academy students are lucky enough to be taking part in the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, partnered with the UK Space Agency and are embarking on an ‘out of this world’ N educational project called Rocket Science. Two kilograms of rocket seeds took off from Florida bound for the International Space Station as part of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s six-month Principia mission. After several months on board, the seeds were sent back and landed in the Pacific Ocean. Newmarket Academy received two packets of 100 seeds to take part in the experiment. Miss Bridge, the Academy’s Head of Science said “The resources will enable us to embark on a voyage of discovery to see what growing plants in space can teach us about life on Earth and whether we can sustain human life in space through the production of our own food. We are very excited to be part of NASA’s experiment and intrigued to find out the effects of Space on seeds. Students will be recording the percentages of germination and growth and life of seeds up until the 31st May when the experiment finishes. We will input the results into a national online database so that results can be compared across all schools in the UK” The project is aimed at inspiring pupils to think scientifically and helping them to see the potential of future careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) and Horticulture.
Confident Individuals - Dance Show 2016
T
his year we had 42 students taking part in the dance show. All students had the opportunity to choreograph their own dance and showcase it to the audience. We had a mixture of dance styles represented which included contemporary, tap, street, ballet. All students worked exceptionally hard to rehearse for the show and did themselves proud on the night. We were also lucky enough to have Elsa Urmston come and watch the show. Elsa is the Director of the Dance East CAT programme which recognises dancers who have exceptional potential in dance and through an audition process students can secure a place to receive professional level dance training. Last year we had two current year 8 students accepted onto the programme.
Pi Day 2016
Kingfisher Award
N
ewmarket Academy were presented with a surprise Award from Kingfisher House last week. The manager of our neighbouring care home presented the award for the continuing fantastic work that we do for them. Events are being planned where we can again organise a themed day with Kingfisher for National Care Home Day which is on the 17th June 2016. We are also planning on taking students to Kingfisher to help the residents create memory boxes.
We hope to go back to the Theatre before Christmas in a joint visit with our 6th Form Students.
O
n the 14th of March, mathematicians all over the world celebrated Pi (π) Day. π is equal to 3.14159…, in some countries the date is written month/day/year, thus the 14th of March, or 3/14/16, is π Day. Newmarket Academy Year 9 students took part in the celebration this year. Students took part in multiple π Day activities; they discovered the value of π, played π SMADness (a game like Countdown’s maths), and took a quiz about π. Some students were crowned π Day Winners. Congratulations to them all!
Royal Marine Fitness
We hope to go back to the Theatre before Christmas in a joint visit with our 6th Form Students. Maths Mastery Donation
A
t Newmarket Academy the Maths department follow a curriculum called ARK Maths Mastery. We have been lucky enough to follow this programme for the last two years, which enables students to fall in love with problem solving and it creates logical thinkers in our youngsters. ARK was developed after visiting Singapore on several occasions where the results for Mathematics are exponentially greater than in our country. Therefore I am sure you can imagine us Maths geeks are so excited for our students to be part of this ARK mastery approach that is increasing in popularity across the UK. We have been lucky enough to have a kind, generous donation from Mr Cumani this past month. His donation has forged additional links with us in the community and is greatly appreciated by the Academy. His donation will enable us to purchase workbooks that run alongside the curriculum, with some funds left to go towards the scheme itself. Thus giving us access to puzzles, the expertise of those employed at Ark and a tool to enable us to stretch and challenge all of our students at the Academy. By G Sargent
Attendance
W DONE to WELL
ELL DONE to the following tutor groups on achieving 100% for last week (25.04.16 to 28.04.16)
B4MDS, B5ADT, B7NSS the following F2HCG, F4HHE, F6LMN tutor groups T2KHE, T6DDN & T7CSH who achieved
Tutte House
Points - 24 Attendance - 96.4%
Franklin House
Points - 24 Attendance - 96.43%
Brooke House
Points - 24 Attendance - 96.54%
n Tuesday 26th April, two Royal Marines Commandos visited the Academy to work with Year 10 students. Over the course of the day, the students learned about different aspects of the job of being a Royal Marine.
O
They were also able to ask the Marines any questions, which ranged from their favourite football team, to different places they had visited, to questions about armed combat. The students also undertook some Marines training exercises. After the warm up, one student stated ‘I’m exhausted, and he’s not even out of breath’, referring to the visitor who had led them! They went on to complete a circuit of challenging physical activities. They finished with being set some Practical Leadership Tasks, such as creating stretchers out of rope to carry a wounded person. While the students found the day physically demanding, many of them really enjoyed working on their resilience, perseverance and teamwork and felt a real sense of achievement.