Edition 9: Friday 10 th November Droylsden Academy is a good school (OFSTED September 2017) IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK

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1 Newsflash Edition 9: Friday 10 th November 2017 Droylsden Academy is a good school (OFSTED September 2017) IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK Year 11 Drama students have completed the first of their two GCSE Drama practical examinations, performing in front of a live audience. The four performances entitled Disclosure, Slavery, E and There is Always Hope were based on modern pieces of surrealist art and touched on hard hitting and emotive topics which engaged and affected everyone who attended. Ms Scantlebury was immensely proud of all the students who took part and is really looking forward to working with them on their second performance exam.

2 Kelly Dalton and Anisha Joshi from Year 11 choreograph and perform a duet entitled On the Edge as part of Lest We Forget, a fund raising evening held at Ashton 6 th Form College. The Head of Dance at Ashton said I would like to say a massive thank you to Kelly and Anisha for participating in Lest we Forget 2017! Their duet was a fabulous and creative performance and they demonstrated outstanding behaviour and professionalism throughout. Tameside veterans attending the event were very impressed and very grateful for the 600 we raised in support of their fund raising appeal. Tickets for the Academy production of Beauty and the Beast go on sale. Further information can be found later in this edition of Newsflash.

3 Mr Jackson s Year 7 Geography group make a living hill to demonstrate how contour lines on a map indicate features on the landscape! The circles of string represents the contour lines which students held at different heights to show how high above sea level each part of the hill was. GCSE COUNTDOWN Year 11, you are now 9 weeks into your final year and there are only 22 school weeks left, just 110 days in school, until your first GCSE exam. Important! Year 11 Lunchtime Maths Drop-in Sessions Would you like some extra support with your maths homework or revision? Every lunchtime, we are now offering you the chance to get exactly that. Bring along whatever it is that you wish to work on, or come to try a past paper. You are welcome to eat a packed lunch whilst you work as long as you tidy up after yourself. This will be an excellent additional opportunity to work in a calm and purposeful environment with support from your teachers. Please feel free to ask your Maths teacher for more details. Students working towards the Foundation tier papers should come to Room P41. Students working towards the Higher tier papers should come to room P31. Your pre-public examinations start on Monday 27 th November and it is essential that you start to revise for them over the half term break. If you are really committed to achieving GCSE exam success then you will put time aside each day to read through your notes and prepare thoroughly. Every time you read through your notes, a little more sticks with you, you consolidate on your learning and you reinforce your understanding; the time is never wasted.

4 The timetable for the Year 11 pre public exams is detailed below. Date Morning session Afternoon session Mon 27 th November Tues 28 th November English Literature and Spanish (Speaking)* English Language and Spanish (Speaking)* Biology (Combined and Triple Science) Chemistry (Combined and Triple Science) Weds 29 th November Maths and Spanish (Speaking)* Physics (Triple Science only) Thurs 30 th November Fri 1 st December Mon 4 th December French (Listening, reading and writing) and Spanish (Speaking)* Spanish (Listening, reading and writing) and French (Speaking)* French (Speaking)* Computer Science, IT and Dance Sport (Written) Tues 5 th December History and Photography Photography (continued) Weds 6 th December RS, Geography, Music Technology Part 1 and French (Speaking)* Health & Social Care, Music Technology Part 2 and French (Speaking)* Thurs 7 th December Art (All day) and French (Speaking)* Art (All day) and French (Speaking)* Fri 8 th December Food & Nutrition, Music (Listening), Drama and Statistics Sport (Practical *All speaking exams for Spanish and French are by individual student appointment. Thorough preparation for your pre public exams is essential if you are committed to meeting and exceeding your target grades next summer. YEAR 11 PARENT TEACHER EVENING The Academy would like to thank those parents and carers who attended Year 11 Parent Teacher Evening. Altogether 156 students out of a total of 183 were represented by parents or carers on the night, a turn-out of 85%. Feedback would suggest that the evening was very useful for parents, students and staff. Of the parents who filled in an Academy questionnaire during the evening: 100% of them agreed that their child enjoys school and was happy at the Academy; 100% felt that their child was safe and well looked after; 100% felt that their child was making good progress; 97% felt that their child was taught well; 95% felt that behaviour was good;

5 94% felt that bullying was rare and that, if it did occur, it was dealt with well; 90% felt that they are kept well informed by the Academy and know what is going on; 94% would feel comfortable about contacting the Academy if they had any concerns; and 94% would recommend the Academy to other people if asked for their views. Whilst the Academy is pleased that 85% of parents and carers were able to attend, and appreciate the phone calls and s from the parents who genuinely couldn t come, we are concerned and disappointed that 27 of our students were not represented at such an important evening where progress, attainment, strengths and learning areas for development were discussed with subject teachers. Evidence clearly shows that students who are actively supported in their education by parents who attend such events as Parent Teacher Evenings do much better. Thank you to our trainee prefects from Year 10, Precious Aro, Angel Eyaife-Eyaifa and Semira Fisher for staffing Reception and the signing-in desk throughout the evening. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Tickets for Beauty and the Beast are now on sale from Student Services. There will be three public performances which will take place on Tuesday 5 th, Wednesday 6 th and Thursday 7 th December. Tickets are priced at 5 for adults and 3.50 for children and concessions. Alternatively, you can buy a family ticket for two adults and two children at a cost of 12.

6 THE NATIONAL SHAKESPEARE SCHOOLS FESTIVAL Good luck to the Droylsden Academy No Limits Performing Arts group who will be performing their production of Macbeth at the Contact Theatre in Manchester on Tuesday 14 th November as part of the prestigious national Shakespeare Schools Festival. Last year s performance of A Midsummer Night s Dream was outstanding and Ms Scantlebury is confident that the eight months of hard work and preparation that have gone into this year s production will pay off with another fantastic evening. Droylsden are performing on one the festival s special supporter nights, which is very exciting as it will mean some important supporters of the festival will be there including actors, actresses and possibly members of the government too. We are sure it will be a wonderful evening and we hope that family, students and staff will support the event. LOST PROPERTY Lost property will be displayed at Student Services until Friday 17 th November. If your child has lost any personal items such as a coat, bag or PE kit, please encourage them to check at Student Services over the next week. Unfortunately, we cannot store lost items indefinitely any and unclaimed items will be taken to a Charity Shop.

7 STUDENT OF THE WEEK Congratulations to Olivia Green from Year 7 and Mohammed Badje Sane from Year 8 who are this week s students of the week. Olivia has been nominated by the Maths Department as she has made a tremendous start to her mathematical journey at Droylsden Academy. Olivia is very keen to answer questions and always wants to reflect upon and understand any errors she may make. A role model to others, Olivia is regularly putting her hand up to answer questions and has also recently taken part in a challenge against other Year 7 students to help Team Y win the Maths Battle! Mohammed has been nominated by the Science Department. Mohammed is a quiet but very thoughtful student who shines through in every lesson. He is very systematic in his approach to answer questions. He is very inquisitive, thinks out of the box and is also very good with the application of his scientific knowledge. He recently explained, using his knowledge of pressure and particles in fluids, why a deep sea diver must always wear a special suit to avoid getting crushed when diving. He works very hard at completing any task set including homework and extension exercises. Mohammed will become a great scientist in the future and is always a pleasure to teach! DATES FOR YOUR DIARY The evening Securing Success for 2022 will take place for Year 7 students and parents/carers on Thursday 16 th November. Parents and carers will receive further information in due course. The Awards Ceremony for the Class of 2017 will take place on Thursday 23 rd November Pre-public examinations for Year 11 students will commence in week beginning Monday 27 th November. We will be holding a Careers and Aspirations Evening for students from Years 9, 10 and 11 on Thursday 30 th November. Further information will be sent out nearer the time. The Academy production of Beauty and the Beast will be staged on the evenings of Tuesday 5 th, Wednesday 6 th and Thursday 7 th December.