Edition 38: Friday 8 th July 2016 LETTER FROM MR WILSON

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1 Newsflash Edition 38: Friday 8 th July 2016 Welcome to this week s edition of Newsflash. LETTER FROM MR WILSON Congratulations to the Tameside English Team The Tameside English Team, made up of English Departments from across a number of Tameside High Schools, has been presented with a prestigious national award in recognition of their collaborative work and its impact on driving up standards in English across the Authority. Judges at the TES Education Awards said that the Tameside English Team was the well-deserved winner from a field of outstanding finalists from across the country. The judges went on to say that the commitment in helping and supporting partner schools and in developing English teachers across the Authority was outstanding. The contribution made by Droylsden Academy to this success The English Department at Droylsden Academy is one of the leading English Departments from across the 15 Tameside High Schools. Earlier this year, the Droylsden Academy English Team was recognised by Tameside for the outstanding work they are doing with Droylsden students. The Department was given two awards. The first award was for the significant improvement in GCSE performance in 2015, a year in which many schools, nationally, saw their results decline. The second award was for the outstanding outcomes for students studying English in 2015 with GCSE performance well above national and Tameside averages against all key measures. Congratulations to the department and, of course, the students who outperformed their peers from across Tameside and the country. Congratulations also to the department and their colleagues from the Tameside English Team on the national award and the recognition they have now received. The Year 11 Prom Last Friday night I, and many other staff, attended the Year 11 Prom. It was a really enjoyable evening and I am sure that our students had a night to remember. It was also very pleasing that the staff at the venue commented on how well behaved and polite our students were, something that they, apparently, do not always experience when they host a school event.

2 Achievement Evening Next week, on Wednesday 13 th July, we will be holding our annual Awards Evening when we will recognise and celebrate the successes and achievements of our students. I hope that parents and carers of all nominated children will be able to attend and I look forward to meeting you then. The end of term Although the summer holiday is approaching, learning and progress will remain our absolute priorities until we break up. People often think that the final week of term is a wind down but nothing could be further from the truth. It is so important that parents and carers ensure that their child attends every day, as they should do for any week, and arrives at the Academy prepared for hard work, learning and progress. Students who don t, will fall behind their classmates and this may well affect teaching groups and sets for the next academic year. All students have a six week holiday to look forward to; next week will be business as usual with absolutely the same expectations and the highest of standards. Thank you for reading Newsflash and, as usual, I hope you have a good weekend. Best wishes Mr P. Wilson Headteacher GCSE COUNTDOWN Year 10, there are only 33 school weeks left, just 165 days in school, until your first GCSE exam. Parents and Carers please encourage your child to spend some time over the school holiday looking back through the work they have covered during Year 10; a short 15 to 30 minute session each day will give students a fantastic start to Year 11, help establish or consolidate on really good habits of independent learning and preparation and make a wonderful statement about their commitment to future achievement and success. HEADTEACHER S CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT Congratulations to the following students who were invited to attend this week s Headteacher celebration of achievement: Hafsa Khanom Luke Yarwood Riley Conlon Derek Harrison-Webster Luke Ellingworth Jayde Blencowe Mollie Kearney Amelia Brzeska

3 IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK Students on the Performing Arts residential in London visit the West End to watch two productions and take in a site-seeing trip of the Capital City. Everyone had a brilliant time and rather than allowing the weather to dampen their spirits, the students enjoyed an impromptu performance of Singing in the Rain instead! Year 7 students visit the Spaceport Centre in Liverpool as part of their Science course. Year 10 students complete their GCSE practical assessment as part of their Catering course. Year 10 students visit Manchester Road Primary School to observe lessons as part of their GCSE Health and Social Care course.

4 Year 9 students take part in a Screen Printing Workshop Children as part of a collaborative project with Manchester Museum and funded through Children and The Arts. Photographs of the work will appear in next week s edition of Newsflash. Year 10 students take part in Taster Days at Connell Sixth Form College, Tameside College and Clarendon Sixth Form College to find out more about each institution and the courses and qualifications on offer. Feedback from College staff at the Taster Days praised the exemplary behaviour and attitude of our students. Similarly, the Science Lecturers at Clarendon College described the Year 10 students as polite, knowledgeable and well behaved, a pleasure to work with. Students taking part in the World Challenge leave for India! More information about the expedition can be found later in Newsflash. Congratulations to the Year 7 Basketball Team who performed really well against some formidable opposition in the Greater Manchester Tournament at the National Centre for Excellence. Well done to Arron Bile Jessy Lukusa, Archie Farrell, Kai Mulqueen and Rio Harrison for some really impressive displays. Well done, in particular, to Aaron who has been asked to attend at trial with the Oldham Eagles!

5 Year 11 students enjoy their Prom at the Marriott Hotel at Worsley. Thank you to Mr Frost and Miss Davies for organising the evening, it was a wonderful occasion and a lovely way to celebrate the Year Group s five years at the Academy.

6 THE UK MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE Congratulations to the Year 7 and 8 Excel students who entered this year s national UK Mathematics Challenge. The Mathematics Department have just received the results and are delighted to report that a number of Droylsden Academy students have achieved gold, silver and bronze awards in this prestigious competition, a really wonderful achievement. Two students achieved a Gold Award with their results placing them in the top 5% of entrants across the country. These students were Jonathon Le and Jack Gee from Year 8. Five students achieved a Silver Award with their results placing them in the top 15% of entrants across the country. These students were Sam Farrell, Ethan Jones and Sophie Owen from Year 8 and Kacey Devenport and Ha Young Cho from Year 7. Twenty two students achieved a Bronze Award placing them in the top 20% of entrants across the country. These students were Nathan Wilson, Jack Stewart, Josh Nolan, Owain Smith, Dylan Fraine, Emre Deniz, Lily May Heeney, Maham Khan, Maisy Best, Billy Zhang, Harriet Dolan, Callum McKenna and Jake Mason from Year 8 and Archie Farrell, Connor Dopson, Sana Subhani, Phoebe Plant, Ryan Piggott, Lewis McGann, Stephen Parkes and Ellie Rushby from Year 7 Jonathon Le and Kacey Devenport achieved the highest scores in their respective year groups. THE WORLD CHALLENGE Seven students from Droylsden Academy started the adventure of a lifetime this week when they flew out to South India to take part in the World Challenge. Over the next month, they will immerse themselves in the culture and traditions of the Indian people, complete a project which will contribute something meaningful and lasting to the community in which they are staying, undertake a week long physically and mentally demanding trek that will really test their stamina and then finally have a week of rest and relaxation with the opportunity to take part in a range of amazing activities. A full report of their adventure will feature in a September edition of Newsflash.

7 A GIRLS NIGHT OUT Members of the Academy Girls Football Team had a great night out at the Manchester City Academy Stadium recently when they attended a Super League match between Manchester City Ladies, the league leaders, and Liverpool Ladies. The girls themselves have enjoyed a fantastic season and were given the VIP treatment after the match when they met the players including Manchester City and England Captain Steph Houghton. Team members who came along on the evening included Kenzie-Leigh Bentley, Ellie Rushby, Emily Garner, Mia Phelan and Sana Subhani from Year 7, Sian Halkyard, Dom Larkin, Mia Linney, Nicole Mulvey and Autumn Holmes from Year 8, Ellie Richardson, Lauren Malone and Nicola Haldane from Year 9 and Charlotte Evans and Leah Wingfield from Year 10. Miss Macey said that it has been a pleasure and a privilege to coach the girls this season and that the night out was a great reward for their hard work and commitment throughout the season. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY The Year 10 Geography Residential Field Trip to Llandudno will take place in the week beginning Monday 11 th July.

8 Achievement Evening for students from Years 7 to 10 will take place on Wednesday 13 th July. The Rewards Trip to Blackpool will be held on Monday 18 th July. REMINDERS AND MESSAGES Blackpool Please remember that consent forms and payment for the Blackpool trip must be returned to Student Services by Wednesday 13 th July. Uniform Monkhouses, our uniform supplier, will be in the Academy on the following dates over the summer holiday: Wednesday 3 rd August Wednesday 17 th August Wednesday 31 st August We are always grateful for any second hand uniform, especially blazers and PE kit, that your child may have grown out of or, in the case of Year 11 students, no longer needs. Any donations gratefully received by Student Services at the Academy. The end of this academic year and the start of the new one in September The Academy will close for the summer break at 12.00pm on Tuesday 19 th July. The Academy will re-open for all students on Tuesday 6 th September. Year 7 students should arrive at the Academy for the normal start time of 8.30am. Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 should arrive at the Academy from 9.15am for a 9.30am start.