The City Academy, Hackney
TheCityTimes
Summer 1 May 2021
Cross Country Runs for Charity Students have raised over £2250 for Young Minds! This year our students have been raising money for YoungMinds through their cross country runs. Young Minds is a mental health charity that works with children and young people. It has been an invaluable source of support and advice to many during lockdown. You can still donate online here. Students had the choice of a 1km or 2km run, that started at Mabley Green and saw them return to school, some in record quick time! The fastest times for a 2km were Mahmoud, Y9 at 7:09 and Melanie, Y9 at 9:00. But how do students feel about completing these runs? Victoria, Y7 set a very impressive time of 10:10. She ‘loved the run because it was both challenging and fun. At the end we were exhausted but happy that we were raising for charity’. She was also ‘very surprised that I came third - it really shocked me because there were amazing runners running with us’. Mia, Y10 was the fastest female runner in Y10. She set an excellent time of 9:50 she really enjoyed the run and runs regularly outside of school too. Anis, Y8 also enjoyed having the opportunity to do a cross country run. He set the second fastest time for a male in Y8 at 7:58.
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GCSE Options By Sylvio Moungabio, Y9 Pretend I just sighed for a long minute Having to pick our options has been definitely more difficult and pestilent due to this pandemic. As we have spent a portion of the past year learning online we haven’t had the same opportunity to fully decide what subjects are best for us. It is a frightening step moving up to KS4. We are essentially prepping for the foundation of our life. GCSEs are an educational portal to forms of higher education and our futures so many year 9s are rather scared of what is to come. We are worried that lockdowns have affected our brains, that our memories have deteriorated and we know some of us face new mental health challenges. The emergence of new subjects like Latin and Sociology is exciting and many of us are drawn to them but two years suddenly seems like very little time to learn something new. Practical subjects like Drama, Hospitality and Catering, Music etc were all impacted more by being out of the classroom and many students may now be sceptical about picking them. So to be completely honest, heading to KS4 is going to be a trek of many emotions, especially stress, but it is all leading up to something great.
Outward Bound By Elif Mutlu, Y9 Over Easter a group of our Y7, Y8 and Y9s got to experience some of the great outdoors on their doorstep The outward bound trip was an incredible experience! On the first day, we got into groups of 7 people or so, our first task was to get to know our team leader. After that, we walked to Mabley Park where we sat, ate and had a phone break, our leaders told us we should come more often to open places and get a taste of nature. After this we walked into the forest just next to Mabley Green, there we made our way to a river and came across wall art. The only down side was the long walk home. On the second day, we entered the forest again and played a variety of games such as blind folding ourselves and looking for a specific tree to become one with the nature. We took a long walk once again and then we practised making shelters with materials from our surroundings and limited equipment we were provided, this really helped us get out of our comfort zone and explore the surroundings more. On the final day, we did some orienteering and walked in Queen Elizabeth park. We then got sticks and had a hot chocolate and marshmallow roast session in school. Overall, this was a helped and motivated me to experience the real world. I hope others also go out and experience nature.
City Inspirations By Zeesun Hashim, Y10 You may have seen some of the amazing talks our Y10 Prefects have been organising for students but what sort of things do these inspirational speakers have to share? Read on to find out more Michael Sawdayee is a Cambridge graduate and lawyer who was born and raised in Grimsby. He chose to become a lawyer because of the good pay and the support of everyone around him. He says that becoming a lawyer can be fun at times but it is a heavy workload and every six months or so it nearly became too much for him – you have to be very dedicated to keep going! If he wasn’t a lawyer he would be running his own business. His experience at Cambridge was amazing. It was there he became interested in law and also met his wife. Getting into Cambridge isn’t easy as you have to earn the correct grades and work hard to your limits. The major obstacles he faced were being more of an introvert than an extrovert. He found it hard to learn to be able to address a group because he was afraid of making mistakes. He had to practice a lot to get over that. In order to become a lawyer he believes that you don’t necessarily have to do A-levels, but that A-levels in English and history are very useful. You need to get Cs or above to qualify for most courses. It’s a good career and there’s a lot of variety and types of lawyer. For instance he specialises in advertising law which has no relations to the type of criminal law that most people think of as being what a lawyer does. Michael Sawdayee believes the best lawyer is the one who can understand real problems, and that to him, success is having a good relationship and stability.
Introducing our new 6th Form Student Leadership Team The student leadership strives to be an advocate for Y12 and Y13 and to help voice their ideas or concerns. We push for a change if needed and help improve student wellbeing. Furthermore, we work alongside the sixth form team, taking part in tasks such as organising social events. We have even worked alongside Mr Brown observing classes, to view the different teaching methods used - ultimately trying to better the quality of teaching. We aim to make the sixth form community more welcoming and inviting to everyone, especially students who join the school in Y12. We have started to act by considering making a positive affirmations board, organising school socials with input from year group and forming clubs after school for the enjoyment of our peers. The student leadership team is very passionate about making a change. The diversity within the team allows us to contribute different ideas and have a better understanding of different customs. It enhances the positive experiences of working within the team. Working alongside Ms Quadra has allowed to bounce ideas of her. She has had a positive impact on the bond between the team and plays a lead role in finalising ideas that we have all proposed. Over the next year we hope to build a closer and inclusive sixth form where those can feel free to express themselves.
Library Highlights Now open to students at lunchtimes! Top book this half term A Darkness of Dragons by S. A. Patrick A book for anyone who loves epic quests and magical worlds to get lost in. 81 students have already passed their summer accelerated reader target!
The deadline for reaching 100% is Wednesday 7 July. Since Easter we have been able to start welcoming students back to the library at lunchtime. Years 7 - 9 can all now come in person - with specific times/days for their year group bubble. Y10s will be able to visit the Turing Library after half term.
Published Poets Work by 22 Y7 - Y9 students has been selected for inclusion in an anthology called Imagine We’re very proud that work by so many of our students has been recognised in this way. You can view all their work online here. And here is just one of the poems: Valentine by Zahir Uddin ‘Not a red rose or a satin heart I give you a seed It will lead to something beautiful Take care of it and put it in soil Wait for it, it will end well Don’t leave it Don’t make it sad Don’t make it cry Don’t let it be hurt Wait for it What will it Bloom into? Take care of it and you’ll see Water it Feed it Leave it in the sun Let it grow Check it a week later What’s inside? My valentines to you A wedding ring
Students enjoying the library at lunch
Staff: Leavers & Joiners Leavers Chantel Mutongole - HR Officer Yooseok Jung - Peripatetic Teacher Jae Yoo - Peripatetic Teacher Joiners Harriet Crawford - Deputy Subject Lead, Music Charlotte Lewis - Geography Teacher Sophie Tunnicliffe - HR Manager Maria Carr - HLTA
Diary Dates 31 May - 4 Jun - Summer Half Term Mon 7 Jun - First day of Summer Term 21 Jun - 5 Jul - End of year assessments 14-29 Jun - Y11 Sixth form transition Tue 22 Jun - PSA Event: How to help your students stay safe Fri 25 Jun - SEND Coffee Morning Thu 1 Jul - School Closed, Y8 Parent Day Thu 15 Jul - Sports Day Fri 16 Jul - Last Day of Term Fri 3 Sep - First Day of Autumn Term 21-22
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