Tuxford academy life issue 5

ACADEMY Life

The official magazine of Tuxford Academy

Issue No. 5

Spring Term 2016

“Students rewarded for leadership skills” “2015

Best ever A level results” Celebrity advice – how to stay safe online

Welcome to Academy Life Principal’s introduction Welcome to the spring issue of Academy Life. It’s wonderful to read so many stories about the huge amount of leadership opportunities our students are embracing, along with their dedication to community and charitable work.

A fantastic amount of work has been done in the last term, which I know will help enormously in our students becoming well rounded, mature, educated young people.

These qualities are highlighted throughout the magazine, such as the commitment to leadership roles and addressing important whole society issues like cyber bullying and changing perception of mental health. Finally, I would like to congratulate all those students, for pushing themselves to not only work hard at their education, but also working hard outside of their academic studies to be the best that they can be. Impressive work.

Mr David Cotton, Executive Principal

Dates for your diary MARCH

JULY

Dates for your diary 25th

Good Friday – School Closed

1st

P16 Summer Ball

28th

Easter Monday – School Closed

4th

Y6 Transition Week

12th

DALP Games

12th

Billy Elliott Performance (evening)

13th

Billy Elliott Performance (evening)

APRIL 1st

Ski Trip Departs

14th

Billy Elliott Performance (evening)

4th

First day of Easter Break

15th

Billy Elliott Performance (evening)

8th

Ski Trip Returns

16th

Billy Elliott Performance (matinée and evening)

18th

School reopens after Easter

18th

Y7 Camp 1 Depart

18th

Y10 Academic Tutorials Week

18th

P16 University Residential Trip Departs

29th

Inset Day (school closed)

19th

Y9 London Trip Departs

19th

TFC Music Festival

20th

Y7 Camp 2 Departs

20th

Y7 Camp 1 Returns

MAY 2nd

Bank Holiday – school closed

21st

P16 University Residential Trip Returns

16th

GCSE and GCE exams start (finish 22nd June)

21st

Y9 London Trip Returns

30th

Spring Bank Holiday – School Closed

22nd

Y7 Camp 2 Returns

31st

First Day of Half Term Break

25th

First Day of Summer Holidays

Editorial team

JUNE

2

6th

School re-opens after Half Term

27th

Y7 Academic Tutorial Week

28th

P16 Transition Day

29th

Y11 Prom

Zakkary Crossland, Year 8 Lauren Macfie, Post 16 Oliver Pridmore, Post 16 Megan Sheeran, Year 10 Stephanie Smith, Post 16 Catherine Whitfield, Post 16

www.tuxford-ac.org.uk

Many thanks to all staff who contributed towards articles

News Pop sensation Rich Cottell – encourages students to stay safe online Singer and songwriter Rich Cottell has been sharing his experiences of cyber bullying with Tuxford Academy students.

The musician, who has supported ‘The Wanted’ on tour, also performed three songs and encouraged students to join in with the session.

Sue Johnson, Work Related Learning Leader at Tuxford Academy said: “Tuxford Academy was buzzing with excitement; Rich was able to draw on his own experiences of cyber-bullying to deliver an empowering, thought provoking and highly relevant talk on e-safety.”

Mr Cottell urged students to ignore and ultimately block people who gave them grief, set a strong password and their accounts to private, protect personal details and report any trolls to CEOP (Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre), the police, ChildLine or a responsible adult, keeping a record of the offending posts.

He also urged them never to post online when they were

in a bad mood or angry with anyone and to never send inappropriate images.

Due to the success of the presentation, Tuxford Academy will be arranging further sessions to support students with their online safety.

Music for all Oliver Pridmore, Post 16 student, quizzes Mr Evason on how students can get involved in music at school: Music has consistently been a key part of what makes Tuxford Academy so special; its musical productions and showcase evenings always prove to be a hit with parents and students alike. So how can you as students get involved? I posed this question to the Head of Music, Mr Evason: “Anyone who enjoys music needs to take the plunge to develop their skills. It has to be a personal decision, don’t be negatively influenced by what people around you are saying, be true to yourself and invest the time and effort if you feel like you have something to give.”

Mr Evason explained that students can begin to develop their music using the facilities at lunchtimes: “You can use the music rooms at lunchtime to practise and develop your skills, along with friends, and if you feel like you’re at a certain standard you can begin to take on formal instrumental lessons also on offer in the school.”

The Creative & Expressive Arts Department is currently at work putting together this year’s school production -

Billy Elliot.

This is also something that you can get involved with: “Absolutely anybody can help; it’s open to all years and all abilities.

Billy Elliot is the fantastic story of a young lad with a passion for dancing, in the context of a mining community and the music in the show is fantastic. We have rehearsals every Monday and Wednesday until 5:30pm so if you feel you can contribute, come along!”

For more information on any of these opportunities you can talk to Mr Evason or any member of the Creative & Expressive Arts Department.

Oliver Pridmore, Post 16 student

Academy Life

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News NOTICES Online payment facility at the academy Parents and carers can use the online payment facility (Tucasi) at the academy, for trips’ payments and purchasing school uniform. The link to the payments is on the academy website. Please go into the parent portal section of the Tuxford Academy website.

Reminder – Purchase your Year 11 Yearbook Yearbooks are £15.00 each and order forms are available at College Receptions. Please hand in your order form as soon as possible for this fantastic memory of your time at school.

New state of the art Drama facilities After just a few months of construction, our new Drama

block is finally ready for use. Creative Arts will no doubt put the additional new space to fantastic use in lessons and in preparation for their summer production of ‘Billy Elliot’.

Attendance Prize Draw All student names will automatically be placed into a weekly draw. If the name picked out has achieved 100% lesson attendance in a week, they will win £5.00.

If the name has not achieved 100% the draw is rolled over and the next prize is £10.00.

In the event of the draw rolling over for the whole term, the top prize is a Kindle.

Healthy body and mind Catherine Whitfield Post 16 student, discusses society’s perception of mental health with Ryan Footitt, Retford Lions Youth Ambassador...

Introduction: Throughout history, mental health has been pushed aside as something to be ashamed or afraid of, and therefore, has not been addressed properly in society. Many people don’t recognise mental health as such a commonplace subject in people’s everyday lives, like we do physical health, when in fact our mental ‘well-being’ is just as important.

There are many different types of mental health issues, such as OCD, schizophrenia and the two most familiar; anxiety and depression. Studies have shown that around 1 in 4 will experience mental health issues this year and that 20% of young people will experience some sort of mental health concern before adulthood. As well as this, a staggering 9% of the UK is said able to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

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It is important to recognise that as everyone is different, we each cope differently with situations in our lives, and therefore may be more or less susceptible to issues with our mental well-being, as we go through the different stages in our lifetime.

Problems at home, social relationships or school can often cause increased anxiety, or lead to depression. So why is there such a need for awareness about mental health?

What Ryan has to say: Year 12 student Ryan Footitt frequently campaigns to raise awareness about mental health in society. He believes the negative stigma attached to mental health is incorrect. Ryan thinks we should be more open about our psychological well-being just as we are about our physical health. Ryan also commented that “there are a lot of myths about mental health in all different environments, not just schools and amongst young people. People don’t understand depression, and need to know the facts, such as what is the proper diagnosis.”

So what can we do about it?

Some organisations such as ‘Time to Change’ tackle this stigma by creating blogs, adverts, videos, and hosting events to raise awareness. “You can plan form discussions, or talk to friends and family... 5 minutes is all it takes,” said Ryan. Tuxford sixth form has already hosted a charity leg wax, raising an incredible £180 for the charity ‘Mind’. Ryan’s final thought was, “The government needs to provide more information and facts so that people feel more open to talking about it, so that we don’t have to feel belittled by these issues nearly all of us will experience in our lifetimes.”

Catherine Whitfield, Post 16 student Data quoted in the article was sourced from Green et al, 2004. Green, H; McGinty, A; Meltzer, H; Ford, T. & Goodman, R. (2004). Mental health of Children & young people in Great Britain. Cardiff National Statistics.

www.tuxford-ac.org.uk

News

Tuxford Academy welcomes Shanghai Teachers – Ni Hao! On Wednesday 4th November Tuxford Academy welcomed two teachers from Shanghai, China, as part of an exchange project funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

Mr Yang and Miss Jinn arrived at the academy to a warm welcome from students who had been learning a few Chinese phrases in preparation for meeting them.

Miss Jinn commented: “I’m so amazed with how much space you have at Tuxford Academy and with the impressive outdoor facilities for students. It also feels much colder than back in Shanghai!

– We are looking forward to working together with the students and teachers.”

teaching. Each morning, school life starts at 8.00 am with a morning exercise – performed by the whole school.

Class sizes are larger than in Tuxford Academy. Seeing the different teaching methods in action was a great way for us to understand how students learn maths in Shanghai” said Miss Orange.

Tuxford Academy is part of the National Maths Hubs programme. Thirty-four Maths Hubs have been established across England and they all participated in the Shanghai teacher exchange during autumn 2015.

During the three week visit Mr Yang and Miss Jinn partnered Maths teachers at Tuxford Academy to demonstrate some of the elements of Shanghai maths teaching, which have proved so effective in helping school pupils in Shanghai reach high levels of attainment. The teachers also looked at outstanding practice here in the UK. During the exchange students showed great enthusiasm for learning some of the Chinese language and have enjoyed meeting the Shanghai teachers and sharing ideas.

Miss Orange and Miss Barlow – Maths teachers at Tuxford Academy, have recently visited Shanghai as part of the exchange where they spent ten days participating in maths lessons delivered by Shanghai Teachers.

“We enjoyed a very busy exchange visit where we observed

DALP show time!

For the fourth year running, the DALP Creative Arts Festival was held at the beautiful Majestic Theatre in Retford on Tuesday 15th December.

This year’s theme was a circus and entitled ‘The Big Top’.

Students from across all six DALP academies rehearsed last term to perform on stage to an audience of parents, teachers, VIPs and other students. “It was really good fun.

I’m so glad I did it!” said one Tuxford Academy student.

The ‘Big Top’ performance showcased a variety of creative genres including dance, singing, circus skills and samba drumming. Parents who watched the performance praised

the students for their courage in getting up on stage and putting on such a good show. “My son would never have been the one to get involved. It’s been a good self-esteem boost for him,” parent of DALP student. DALP Chief Executive officer, Chris Pickering said of the performance, “It was a fantastic show and I know that many of our students will have happy memories of the experience.”

The students who performed were rewarded with a trip to Nottingham Theatre Royal in January to watch Aladdin in panto.

Academy Life

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Academy Focus

Nurturing leadership

Here at Tuxford Academy the students are afforded a tremendous wealth of opportunities to help them take on greater roles of responsibility and increase their leadership skills. From starting the school in year seven, students are able to involve themselves in the running of the school through Form Representative, Food Forum and Student Forum meetings. As a school, we hold the student voice in high esteem and we regularly ask for student feedback about the ways in which the academy is run; the opportunities available to the students; and the environment in which they work and spend their unstructured times. As a result of feedback in Form Representative meetings and Student Forum discussions, we have made a number of changes to the school environment, cafeteria food choices and the range of enrichment activities available to the students. Although voicing the thoughts of the student body is an excellent way for our students to gain leadership skills, they are able to take on greater responsibility through an impressively wide variety of other roles too: • P16 Lunchtime Supervisors • P16 Learning Resource Centre Supervisors • P16 Led Enrichment Activities • P16 Mentors • P16 Form Buddies • P16 College Presidents • P16 Subject Ambassadors • Y11 College Vice Presidents • Y11 Prefects • Y10 Captains and Vice Captains

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• Anti-Bullying Ambassadors • Form Representatives • Learning Team Leaders • Sports Leaders • Dance Leaders • Student Forum • P16 Student Forum • Food Forum • Junior Town Council • Student Government Representatives Through our College leadership positions, students help to empower and encourage their fellow students – our Year 10 College Captains and Vice Captains work hard to rally up support and participants for our College team events whilst our College Presidents and Prefects work closely with their Heads of College to support students throughout their academic life.

The academy’s Anti-Bullying Ambassadors have impressively developed strategies and methods of support in order to quash bullying across all year groups. Without the help, support and determination of our Post 16 leaders, our school day would not be the success that it is – they provide mentoring, enrichment clubs, support during lunchtimes and they inspire and motivate the younger body of students. Every single student who takes on the challenge of one of our leadership roles, exemplifies our school motto ‘Excellent Through Teamwork’ and it is credit to their outstanding work, effort and enthusiasm that our academy is such an enjoyable place to be.

www.tuxford-ac.org.uk

Academy Focus

skills is paramount College Heads recognise strong leadership in students Mr Mac believes students earn rewards: One of the most rewarding parts of working in a school is seeing our students growing into kind, mature and dependable young adults. On a daily basis students here do what they can to support and look out for each other and that ethos is something that Tuxford Academy holds dear. We have a very active student voice and at the head of this system sit student elected Year 11 Vice Presidents who work with Year 12 College Presidents to run student council meetings and perform various other roles. These students have campaigned to be elected because they feel strongly that they want to make a difference and we are very proud of them for doing so. As such we wanted to recognise their role by giving each of them a special edition blazer that is marked out by their college colour. This also helps younger students to identify them if they want to discuss anything with them.

There are also many other students across the academy who we are proud of though; the four Heads of College felt strongly that they also wanted to recognise members of their own colleges who represent the values that make those colleges what they are. These are students who volunteer to help in whole school events, who are dependable, helpful and who have always been there for us when we’ve needed a hand. So for the first time this year, we have selected two or three students per college who have taken a new prefect role and these students also wear a special edition blazer. These prefects work closely with their Head of College to support and develop the pastoral systems across the academy, whether by helping to organise inter-college competitions, assisting during academic tutorial evenings or giving presentations about important issues during assemblies.

Recognising and developing leadership skills in our students is fundamental to how we work at Tuxford Academy. We want our students to set themselves the highest aspirations and it is a privilege to see so many of them reaching these through commitment, hard work, and the realisation that when we work together, there is nothing we can’t do.

Remember, if you ever see a student wearing a very fancy blazer, it’s because they’ve earnt it.

What the students have to say about it: ‘As form rep, you are encouraged to interact with the other form reps and together, make the academy a better place for all of the other students.’

– John Redwood (Year 8 Form Representative) ‘Being a Sports Leader is a great opportunity to improve your leadership skills and it will really benefit you in the future.’

– Megan Maiden (Year 10 College Captain and Sports Leader) Becoming a ‘Sports Leader’ is a good opportunity because it helps develop both leadership and teamwork skills.

– Holly Chambers (Year 10 Sports Leader) ‘This opportunity to be Willow President, means so much to me as it has helped me learn skills such as taking minutes, chairing a meeting, and speaking in front of large groups of people.’

– Ryan Footitt (Year 12 Willow President)

Mr Macpherson, Head of Ash College

“We want our students to set themselves the highest aspirations” Academy Life

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Academy Focus

Post 16 Lunchtime Supervisor – Sam Stringfellow’s experience Why apply?

I applied because this was an opportunity to develop leadership qualities and make use of my spare time, while earning money which comes in handy to treat myself and others!

How to apply?

I wrote a letter of interest to Mrs Dodd in July 2014. The interview process was undertaken. I applied for a DBS check and underwent Safeguarding training. I started working two lunchtimes per week. Shortly after starting, I took a First Aid at Work course.

What is involved?

• Controlling dinner queues systematically going into the dining room and the Clumber Gallery • Toilet checks on all the toilets in the school to maintain the required high standard of cleanliness • Overseeing students to safety • Cleaning tables in the dining room and Clumber Gallery

• Patience

• Monitoring doorways to ensure a one way system is maintained through the Clumber Gallery and the entrance towards the dining room

• Good communication skills

• Checking the cabanas for litter ensuring all litter is placed in the bins nearby

• Great CV builder

Leadership qualities I have gained: • Approachable • Responsible • Smart

Why do it?!

• Earn money for working while being in full time education • Allows you to become aware of the strengths of others and of how important it is to utilise them • Ensures you can become more aspirational

• Accountable

• Allows you to hold a position as a leader working as part of a team

• Authoritative

• Interaction with all age groups

LRC Autumn Book Fair has bumper sales!

Thanks to all students who supported this initiative – the value of rewards earned for free books was worth £820.

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www.tuxford-ac.org.uk

Academy Focus

Mrs Dodd’s favourite books Books and reading make me happy. I enjoy the way that reading allows me to see the world from the point of view of someone else. It embeds you into society and makes you think about other people.

I didn’t really start reading for pleasure until my late 30s, when I decided to join a book club. I read ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ by Thomas Hardy. To this day it remains one of my favourite books. The descriptive writing makes me feel part of the scene and creates fantastic imagery in my mind.

Another of my favourite books is ‘Great Expectations’.

To give you a taste of what the book is about, Pip is an orphan living on the Kent marshes with his abusive sister and her husband. While exploring in the churchyard near the tombstone of his parents, Pip is accosted by an escaped convict, Abel Magwitch. A great read – why not ask for a copy to read from the LRC? The plot is certainly an important part of the novel however, relating and connecting and believing in the characters is paramount to me. Two books where I was able to relate completely with the main characters and their experiences were ‘Flowers for Algernon’ by Daniel Keyes and ‘Stoner’ by John Williams. These are brilliant life changing books for older readers.

I’ve read many books over the years and I always write a short review and score the book out of ten, something I would encourage all readers to do. It’s a real pleasure

revisiting this and the books I gave 10 /10 always evoke emotion. I find reading relaxing and I tend to enjoy a challenge. Try writing a short review and scoring your reading books.

Books I have given 10/10: • Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens • Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes • Stoner by John Williams • Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams • A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell • Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons • Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell • Small Island by Andrea Levy “I enjoy it when someone reads to me. A book I would recommend for this would be Tarzan of the Apes.”

Book Recommendations - Tom Cook Year 8 The Maze Runner, a book by James Dashner, is about a group of boys that have been put into a maze by a corporation called W.I.C.K.E.D. who are trying to find a cure to a particular illness known as ‘The Flare’. In the maze they are set a series of challenges intended to test their reactions. The end goal of the boys is to eventually work out a way to escape The Maze.

spy bought into the world of MI6 when his uncle dies in a mysterious car accident. His first assignment is to find out about a potentially deadly computer threat. He travels to the computer plant only to find he, as well as every school child in Britain, is in terrible danger. I would recommend the book to anyone wanting an exciting thriller with lots of action and suspense.

The first book in the series is called ‘The Maze Runner’ followed by ‘The Scorch Trials’, ‘The Death Cure’ and finally ‘The Kill Order’ (the prequel). In the first book Thomas must learn about life in the maze until the only girl comes with the message that they must now escape or die; Thomas seems to have some connection with the girl and quickly becomes one of the heroes of the story. I would personally recommend this book to anyone in need of a dramatic, fast paced and sometimes gory set of books.

Another set of books that I have enjoyed reading is the Alex Rider series. This set of books is about a teenage

Academy Life

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Achievement & Awards

Most successful year group EVER in academy history!

“Tuxford Academy has played a huge part in what I have achieved during the past six years. Since leaving school, I have achieved a good degree in International History with Politics, have lived and studied in the United States and have been fortunate to carve a career in public service working in a number of high profile areas. After an extremely competitive application process, whereby only 5% of applications are successful, I have also been accepted on to the Civil Service Fast Stream, the Government’s graduate programme.”

Victoria’s closing message was clear to her audience, “Push yourself to step outside your comfort zone instead of sticking to what you know. Be brave and go for it!”

Miss Murphy, Head of Post 16 at Tuxford Academy, organised a special celebratory evening for the students and parents of their highest Post 16 achievers in the academy’s history! The grades that the class of 2015 achieved meant that 52% of Tuxford Post 16 students achieved grades A*- B at A level, a record high percentage.

Beth Platford, is an example of a Tuxford student who stood out on the evening. Beth won two awards: Highest Achiever Award and Chemistry Award. Beth has since gone on to study medicine at Sheffield University and was quoted by her teacher as one of the most driven young people he had ever taught.

at A level

The guest speaker during the evening was former student Victoria Jones, who left the academy in 2009. Victoria gave a highly impressive and motivational speech detailing her experiences since leaving school.

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52% achieved A* - B For further information on Tuxford Academy’s P16 and courses offered please visit www.tuxford/post 16-ac.org.uk

www.tuxford-ac.org.uk

Achievement & Awards

Athletics champion celebrates students’ successes Olympic legend, Derek Redmond, was the special guest speaker at the academy’s Year 11 Celebration Evening held on 26th November.

Mr Cotton, Executive Principal opened the prestigious event by saying “Tonight is a celebration of all the achievements you have had in the past five years. GCSE results were stunning and we are all incredibly proud of your performances, which have led to some fantastic future pathways and opportunities.”

Derek then gave a motivational speech, which echoed some of the amazing experiences during his time as a champion 400m runner.

“The life you have ahead is for living,” he said. “Enjoy today, you’ve earnt it. Remember this feeling of receiving this accolade, it will spur you on to the next big event or race in your life.”

Sophie Slight’s mother said of her daughter’s achievement of 100% attendance over three years, “I am very proud of her. It has been the making of Sophie coming to Tuxford Academy.”

Leah Lam’s mother said: “We are immensely proud of Leah and all her hard work. Leah has won one of 30 places out of 90 on the Sheffield University Outreach & Access to Medicine programme!

Flying high with Edmond Shipway job Richard Grant, left school in July last year aged 18 to start an apprenticeship with Edmond Shipway, construction consultants in Nottingham. Richard is thoroughly enjoying his work with the company and writes as follows: Well, where do I begin. I started my new career here at Edmond Shipway towards the end of August and so far I really am loving my new job. Being able to get this opportunity in such a booming industry, with a salary along with a paid for degree course, is something that more people should do.

My colleagues here at Shipway could not have welcomed me in a more comforting manner, they have been absolutely brilliant in getting me set up, settled and up to date with projects that are ongoing, getting me involved to assist them in a number of various ways.

Not long after I started, I was invited to attend the annual conference at Woburn Forest Center Parcs, where all UK Shipway employees met to hear how the company is getting on with its targets, new and completed projects. This allowed me to get to know everyone even more and connect with the different offices.

I have now started my degree course, however it is very early days. The great thing about the course, is that I have some incredibly talented individuals in this office who are more than happy to assist me in any way for my degree course, which shows how they are just as passionate about getting

me through the degree as I am!

At work, I am currently working on a number of projects, from new lodges at Sherwood Center Parcs, to the early stages of the upcoming Longford Forest Center Parcs in Ireland, which will be the first ever one to be built in Ireland.

Honestly, I love what I do and I cannot wait to see what the future will hold. I am taking every opportunity there is to do as much as possible around here as I know it will benefit me hugely in the long run.

I would advise students at the academy, if there are any opportunities in the same format as I have taken, then take it by the horns. These chances don’t come often, but in my opinion, nothing beats it.

I would also like to mention, Edmond Shipway won the Project Management Award at the BCI Awards 2015, which is a huge success.

Academy Life

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Charity

Students support Royal British Legion curtain, red scarf and wool, finished off with a safety pin and a button. The poppies were sold throughout the academy with all proceeds donated to the Royal British Legion.

Miss Claire Hallam, form tutor said, “The entire form has been involved; both boys and girls have demonstrated their sewing skills. The poppies are all bespoke and some are very individual… just like us!” She added, “It’s also been great to have the support of others from the Royal British Legion who gave up their time to help our students with the craftwork.”

In the lead up to Armistice Day, Secretary of Retford Royal British Legion, Mrs Ann Hickman, visited ‘The Poppy Tree’ and also held some commemorative events within the school to provide students with time to reflect on the meaning of ‘The Poppy’ and how fund raising supports veterans and their families.

“We’re absolutely delighted that students have worked for over a year to produce some beautiful poppies and helped to raise valuable funds – we would like to express our gratitude for the hard work and support of all the staff and students at Tuxford Academy.” commented Mrs Hickman.

Local artist Kenny Roach (West Street Galleries, Retford) recently visited Tuxford Academy to share his Artwork installation - ‘The Poppy Tree’ with students, and members of the Royal British Legion.

‘The Poppy Tree’ was first created by moulding unwanted vinyl records and has since become a simple yet beautiful symbol of remembrance. The artwork has made several public appearances and is currently being displayed in our Memorial Garden.

As the week of Remembrance activity drew to a close all students took part in special assemblies attended by Veterans from Britain and Russia who all gave moving accounts of their service during the Cold War. An amazing sum of £947.63 was raised for the Poppy Appeal from staff and students at the academy.

Well done WCH – over 200 poppies made!

The poppies enhance the garden - which is used by teachers and students for quiet reflection time - adding colour and meaning at this time of commemoration.

Inspired by the art work, students in Miss Hallam’s tutor group, spent a year of form time to hand craft over 200 poppies.

They were made from pieces of pre and randomly cut felt,

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www.tuxford-ac.org.uk

Charity

Christmas Jumper non-uniform day raises £1000 for Forget-me-nots A group of Post 16 students organised a non-uniform day on Friday 18th December – Christmas Jumper Day, for staff and students. A fantastic £1000 was raised for their chosen charity Forget-me-nots in Tuxford, which supports local families suffering with dementia. Forget-me-nots, based at

The Beeches in Tuxford, is a non-funded organisation and is voluntary run. Some of our Post 16 students volunteer for the charity in their spare time and felt they would like to give something back.

Charity Fair raises over £1000 for charity Our annual Charity Christmas Fair was held at the academy on Thursday 10th December. Many different charities and organisations were represented including: Macmillan Cancer Support, Battle Batten, Mansfield and District Samaritans, Bassetlaw Hospice, CHinK (Children in Kenya), Windmill District of The Guide Association, 2nd Tuxford Scout Group, Action for Children, Traidcraft, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, Retford Branch of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, 4a Mansfield St John’s Brownies and Guide Dogs for the Blind. Over £1000 was raised for the various charities.

“We spent a very busy morning at your Charity Fair, and ran out of prizes by lunch time!”

– Mansfield Samaritans

Feedback from the stallholders was excellent: “Today was a good day for us, not only did we raise £104.00 but we had a fun day. Thank you for lunch and being approached by pleasant and such polite students, a credit to everyone concerned at Tuxford Academy.”

– Bluebell Wood “We had a lovely time, we just like being there to meet people and fly the flag. However, the bonus was that we made £86.05 which was excellent, so that will boost the Poppy Appeal.”

– Royal British Legion

Thanks from Newark Foodbank “On behalf of Newark Foodbank, I would like to take this opportunity to send our grateful thanks for the amazing donation we received. It weighed in at an astounding 124.60kg!

Look at what we have raised!

Newark and Tuxford foodbanks have now amalgamated in order to develop and hopefully serve the more rural areas between the two places. We have come to rely on donations such as yours to maintain our stock. Thank you very much for choosing Newark Foodbank to be the recipients of your very generous donation. Please convey our appreciation to all those concerned.”

Charity Fair

£1000.00

Forget-me-nots

£1000.00

Poppy Appeal

£947.63

The Big Sleep Out £1179.00

Leg Wax

a l: £ 4 5 7

0

ot

T

Charity Car Wash £230.00 £213.42

Jane Ayre, Newark Foodbank

Academy Life

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Gardening

Mr Hardy’s Gardening Tips It’s time to start sowing spring cabbage and Brussels sprouts in the greenhouse and put your summer vegetables in their seed trays.

So don’t forget to put your early potatoes in for chitting (encouraging the seed potatoes to sprout before planting).

Good luck for the coming season!

At Tuxford Academy we are digging over our garden beds and putting manure on them, so that it breaks down and we can dig more easily.

Alan Hardy, Academy Gardener

Chicken & Broccoli Bake This is a super winter dish and always enjoyed by all!

• Cook broccoli florets for approx five minutes • Place broccoli florets in bottom of lasagne dish • Cut your cooked chicken into small pieces and place on top of broccoli

Ingredients: • 1 medium cooked chicken

• Mix the two tins of chicken soup and 3 tbsp of mayonnaise together

• Broccoli florets • 1 400g tin of Heinz Chicken Soup • 1 295g tin of Campbells Condensed Chicken Soup • 3 tbsp mayonnaise

• Add seasoning and 1 tsp of curry powder to sauce and pour sauce over chicken • Sprinkle grated cheese on top of sauce • Sprinkle breadcrumbs over cheese

• 1 tsp curry powder • Mature Cheddar Cheese grated • Fresh breadcrumbs (cooked in a little butter beforehand for 2 or 3 minutes) Method: • Preheat oven to 180C (fan oven)

• Cover with foil and bake for approximately 50 minutes, remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes or so, to brown the breadcrumbs a little. Ensure the bake is piping hot before removing from the oven.

Tuxford take the lead in grow to eat scheme Mr Hardy has been working with a group of keen gardening/ horticultural students growing fruit and vegetables in the school garden to use in the school kitchen for school meals.

Nottinghamshire County Council pay the academy in gardening vouchers in exchange for deliveries of fresh produce to the school kitchen. The first voucher payment covered lettuces, fruit and herbs. The vouchers are then used to purchase other seeds and gardening supplies to enable this process to continue.

This term, the kitchen has supplied a list of produce to Mr Hardy so that they ideally know what to grow and when. The grow to eat scheme has been successful and Nottinghamshire County Council has appealed to other schools across the county to follow Tuxford’s lead and become micro suppliers to their own school.

School catering manager Alison Harvey said: “It is a pleasure to be cooking with fresh produce the students have grown themselves and to see them so enthused about growing their own food.”

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www.tuxford-ac.org.uk

Sport

Bassetlaw Sports Awards 2015 – Tuxford steals the show Tuxford Academy students did fantastically well at the recent Bassetlaw Sports Awards 2015. Our students were presented with trophies and certificates for excelling in their sport, proving their dedication and hard work has paid off.

Congratulations to all Tuxford students; your commitment is exemplary.

WINNERS Sportsman of the Year 14-18 Years: Tom Atkinson, Year 12 This year at The British Summer Championships Tom won a Silver Medal in the individual 200m freestyle, a Silver in the

This is without doubt a fantastic group of athletes who all work incredibly hard for themselves and for Bassetlaw School sport.

Additional Sporting Achievements Win for Tuxford rowing team Eight students in Key Stage 4 represented the academy at the qualifier for the Bassetlaw School Games held at Retford Oaks on 27th January 2016 in the Indoor Rowing competition against teams from Retford Oaks and Portland schools.

Four Year 10 boys and four Year 11 girls rowed as a team.

They both won their team event and the two scores were combined to give an overall unanimous win. This gives our students the chance to represent Bassetlaw in the School Games in Nottingham on 25th February.

Further congratulations to: • Sam Roberts who has been crowned the Welsh Indoor 3K Champion • Georgia Shearman on winning the Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the Year for Gymnastics at the Nottinghamshire Sports Awards on 3rd February • Molly Scott, Amber Scott and Lauren Miller who have all been placed in the top ten in the Girls’ U16s Nottinghamshire Cross Country.

Tuxford winner, Tom Atkinson with sporting hero John Beatty 4 x 100m relay and Gold in the 4 x 200m relay! From these performances, Tom was selected to represent England for his first International call up in May. Competing in the Standard Energy Cup in Ligano in Italy, Tom swam in the 200m freestyle event against swimmers from other countries including; England, Germany, Russia & Italy.

Tom was the youngest boy in the 17 / 18 years team and did fantastically well winning the Bronze Medal!

All of this, whilst at the same time having to combine his competing and training with his A level studies.

Congratulations Tom for receiving this prestigious award.

The Open Disability Category: Georgia Shearman, Year 11 Georgia has recently won five silver medals in the British Gymnastics Disability Championships at “Senior” Level. Georgia is a real inspiration and has some fantastic achievements to her name. Well done Georgia.

The Open School Category: The Bassetlaw Schools Track & Field Athletics Squad Congratulations to: Lauren Miller, Amber Scott, Mollie Scott, Morgan Spink and Sam Roberts.

Sports Results Date

Event

Result

07.01.16 Y10 Boys' Football

v Brunts Academy

Won 2-1

13.01.16 Y8 Boys' Football

v Dukeries

Won 6-3

25.01.16 Y9 Boys' Football

v Mansfield

Lost 4-3

27.01.16 Y7 Boys' Football

v Trinity

Lost 6-1

27.01.16 Y9 Boys' Football

v Quarry

Lost 4-3

27.01.16 Sg Indoor Rowing

v Bassetlaw Won

28.01.16 Y8 Boys' Football

v Brunts Academy

Lost 1-0

01.02.16 Y8 Handball

v Oaks

Lost came 2nd

02.02.16 Y11 Boys' Football

v Toothill

Lost 3-2

Academy Life

15

Exquisite artwork chosen for academy porch Lucy Martin, Year 13

Marnham Road, Tuxford, Newark, NG22 0JH

Tel: 01777 870001

Fax: 01777 872155 Email: office@tuxford-ac.org.uk

www.tuxford-ac.org.uk