Haughton News. March 2016

Haughton News March 2016

School start 7me School starts at 8.50am prompt. At this :me pupils are expected to be in their tutor base or House assembly. Pupils arriving auer this :me will be marked as late. Uniform at Haughton Pupils are expected to wear black trousers or one of the two school approved skirts along with their black blazer, white shirt, House :e and black leather school shoes. Thank you for your con:nued support. Contact Details Please ensure your contact details such as mobile number and email address are kept up to date to assist Haughton Academy in keeping you informed about your child s progress. Back to School in April Haughton Academy re- opens auer the Easter break on Monday 11 April 2016. Year 8 Op7ons The deadline for Year 8 Op:ons Forms to be handed in to the dedicated box on Student Recep:on is Friday 15 April 2016. LiJle Shop of Horrors Door open for performances of LiZle Shop of Horrors at 6pm on Tuesday 12 July 2016, Wednesday 13 July 2016 and Thursday 14 July 2016. Dear Parents, Carers & Friends of Haughton Academy, As you read through this edi:on of Haughton News, you will see that this half term has been incredibly busy and packed with fantas:c opportuni:es and experiences for our pupils. At Haughton Academy, we encourage our pupils to par:cipate in a wide range of exci:ng extra- curricular ac:vi:es and opportuni:es to engage within the local community. Staff at Haughton Academy strive to make learning exci:ng and crea:ve so that our pupils make the best possible progress. The summer term sees that start of the all important examina:on period. Staff and pupils have been working very hard in prepara:on, to ensure each pupil is as fully prepared as they can be to gain the qualifica:ons that they need to progress into colleges, appren:ceships and the work place. Year 11 pupils should now have received revision pack, which contains guides and strategies to maximise the effec:veness of revision for each subject that they study. Please can I ask that you take the :me over Easter to purchase any new items of school uniform and equipment that your child may need. I look forwrd to seeing pupils return to school on Monday 11 April 2016, with full equipment and ready to begin learning in tutor groups at 8.50am. I wish you an enjoyable and relaxing Easter break. Best wishes, Jonathan Lumb Principal of Haughton Academy Parent Network Re-starting Wednesday 13 April 2016 1:30pm 2:30pm Parents/carers, you are invited to join an informal support group. A chance to make friends, discuss concerns and have talks from key people within your child s education. For more information and to book a place please contact Helen Suggett (hsuggett@educationvillage.org.uk) or Lianne Miller (lmiller@educationvillage.org.uk)

Car Parking You may be aware that recently the Educa:on Village has had some work carried out to improve the car parking facili:es available on site. This work should have been completed by Monday 22 February 2016, but due to poor weather condi:ons, this was not possible. However, the work should now be completed over the Easter holidays for when pupils return to school on Monday 11 April 2016, weather permi_ng. The main benefits are 60 addi:onal parking bays on site for staff. This means that space in the main car park has been made more freely available for 14 designated visitor bays. There will also be improved signage and road markings plus clear access for emergency vehicles. With this in mind, we would like to remind you that cars should not park on the roundabout at the front of the Academy at any :me. Two drop- off bays have also been created and available at the front. One is for disabled badge holders and one for all vehicles. Please note these are drop- off bays only and are not car parking spaces. There will also be physical barriers to protect pedestrians from vehicles. This means that you will generally find it much easier to locate a parking space when visi:ng our school. We strongly believe that with the introduc:on of designated parking bays, illegal and inappropraite parking at the front of school will stop, meaning pupils, visitors and staff will be safer. Therefore, if you are visi:ng the Academy for any reason, please adhere to the road markings and signage to ensure the safety of everyone on our site. If you have any queries regarding these changes, please contact the Academy on 01325 254000. 10 Book Challenge We are just over half way through the school year and some pupils and staff have completed their 10 book challenge already! Everyone who completes the challenge is given a cer:ficate and pupils are entered into a prize draw to win a Kindle Fire. The challenge runs un:l July, so there s s:ll plenty of :me to start it or complete it - get r e a d i n g everyone! Year 8 Op7ons All Year 8 pupils have recently been issued with an op:ons booklet and personalised op:ons form for them to select the subjects they would like to study as part of their Key Stage 4 curriculum. Beginning Key Stage 4 in Year 9 has been a careful and deliberate decision, taken to meet the needs of our pupils. It has involved: Careful reflec:on on the success, and some:mes barriers to success, experienced at our school. The research of curriculum models used in other schools. Consulta:on with pupils who have experienced life at Key Stage 3 and 4. Consulta:on with staff. A careful considera:on of how best to ensure our pupils achieve to the highest level they possibly can. A desire to ensure every pupil can engage with a curriculum which mo:vates them to succeed. A desire to ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to follow a broad curriculum to help meet their needs in a constantly changing global economy and an increasngly technological world. High grades are becoming more important to employers, colleges and universi:es in their selec:on processes so by extending the opportunity for our pupils to succeed in all subject areas we are encouraging future success. If your child is in Year 8, please take the :me over the Easter break to carefully consider all the GCSE and BTEC op:ons available. The pupil then needs to ensure their completed form is placed in the dedicated box on Student Recep:on by Friday 15 April 2016.

Accelerated Reader Connects With Home At Haughton Academy, we realise the importance of good reading, comprehension and communica:on skills which is why all Year 7 and 8 pupils have a :metabled Accelerated Reader lesson every week. All parents with internet access are now able to monitor their child s progress in the Accelerated Reader programme via Renaissance Home Connect. If you have any ques:ons, please contact Karen Fantarrow on 01325 254000. Form gets to grips with pancakes Having talked about Shrove Tuesday, pupils in LWT joined f o r c e s t o b r i n g i n t h e i n g r e d i e n t s t o p r o d u c e pancakes for breakfast on Pancake Day, back in February. The tutor group even managed to rope in Mr Hopper who enjoyed being chef. It was a great social occasion whilst enjoying some delicious pancakes! North East Book Awards Over the last 4 months, Haughton s North East Teenage Book Award Team have been busy reading the books on the shortlist, deba:ng which one is the best and ul:mately vo:ng for their favourite. We then got the chance to azend the awards ceremony at the Life Centre in Newcastle, where the winner, Susan Fletcher with her book, A lizle in love, was revealed. Our pupils then got the chance to ask the authors ques:ons, get their books signed and have photographs taken. The group were a credit to the Academy and a great night was had by all. The North East Teen Book Award, now in its 17th year, is one of the longest running regional book awards in the country and has more than twenty five schools taking part. It was established to encourage wider reading beyond Key Stage 3, a :me when reading for pleasure is known to dip. The photograph on the leu shows Gemma with the Award Winner. On the right is Leia with Melinda Salisbury who was nominated for wri:ng The Sin- Eater s Daughter.

Inter School Football Well done to all the pupils who played in the inter school football match on Tuesday 1 March 2016. They all behaved excep:onally well and were a credit to our school for taking part in what turned out to be a very hard fought 4:4 draw. World Book Day Pupils and staff took every opportunity to join in with the World Book Day celebra:ons at Haughton Academy. We started off with some of our Year 7 and Year 8 pupils taking part in a Bumper Book Quiz, which was also an azempt to break a Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously taking part in a book quiz. Staff and visitors, who kindly agreed to act as officials for the World Record azempt were impressed with our pupils enthusiasm and knowledge. It was a perfect result, when we found out on World Book Day that the record had been smashed with an amazing 6 388 people across the country taking part, more than doubling the previous amount. Compe::ons took place in the Academy across the week of World Book Day, where pupils were asked to guess which books a series of film characters had originated from and work out which staff members had had their photographs taken hiding behind their reading books. Any pupils found by a member of staff to be reading outside of lesson :me was given a Golden Ticket, which they could exchange for a prize and a l l p u p i l s w e r e also given the chance to claim a 1 World Book Day voucher. Haughton s Challenge group, which mentors groups of primary school children with literacy and maths, held a World Book Day party in the LRC. Year 6 pupils from Springfield were invited to take part in a range of literacy ac:vi:es and showed us their drawing skills by recrea:ng characters from the popular series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The party ended with pupils receiving World Book Day goodie bags.

English Literature GCSE Exam Dates The GCSE examina:ons for English Literature will be held on: Monday 23 May 2016, AM Friday 27 May 2016, PM Year 9 and Year 10 Get Stuck Into Literature Ni[y in Fi[y! Year 8 pupils rose to the World Book D a y 5 0 W o r d C h a l l e n g e. C o u l d y o u write a story in exactly 50 words? Both Year 9 and Year 10 pupils will be si_ng the new English Literature GCSE in the summer of 2017. We re studying the Eduqas specifica:on and this includes Macbeth, An Inspector Calls, A Christmas Carol, Unseen Poetry from the 20th/21st Century and poetry from 1789 to the Present Day. Examples include To Autumn by John Keats and Valen:ne by Carol Ann Duffy. From 2016, English Literature GCSE will be counted by colleges and employers as equally important as the English Language GCSE so a thorough knowledge of these texts is vital. Year 9 and Year 10 Get To Grips With Macbeth Pupils in Year 9 and Year 10 have been studying Macbeth in English lessons f o r t h e p a s t couple of weeks in prepara:on for their GCSE E n g l i s h Literature. T h e Y o u n g S h a k e s p e a r e dropped by just before half term and gave a fantas:c interac:ve workshop to both groups of pupils - bringing the witches in this Shakespearean tragedy to life in the form of zombies! Seeing the tale of a power crazed king of Scotland was a brilliant way to kick- start this unit of work - showing pupils that the play is truly terrifying even 400 years auer it was first performed!

Year 11 Pupils Achieve Our Best Ever English GCSE Results! A fabulous 42 pupils achieved A or A* grades in the recent English Language GCSE examina:on and have been invited by QE for a day of taster lessons. They will sample a variety of A Level lessons in English Language, Literature and Film/Media Studies alongside current QE students. QE are sending their minibuses to transport us and are providing break and lunch:me refreshments. Theatre Visit Year 11 pupils are looking forward to a trip to Darlington Civic Theatre to see set text Of Mice and Men adapted for the stage. The produc:on has won na:onal acclaim and is being performed by Touring Consor:um Theatre Company and Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company. We re incredibly lucky to also be invited to a Ques:on and Answer session with the cast auer the performance. There couldn t be a bezer way to revise for GCSEs! Year 7 and 8 Descrip7ve Wri7ng Year 7 pupils have been reading the novel Wonder by R J Palacio, and have been crea:ng pieces of wri:ng, showing an understanding of characterisa:on, language, themes and se_ng. Here is an extract from August s diary by Emily. Dear Diary, Today was my first day at middle school, which is actually my first day at any school. EVER! I was extremely nervous at home, but with a face like mine, who wouldn t be? It isn t easy to walk around a packed school without geeng looked at at least once. When I arrived, it wasn t as daungng or dreadful as I thought it would be. Jack was really helpful and friendly. He had shown me around the school! Meanwhile, Julian was horrible. He asked me if I liked Darth Sidious, and, even though nobody else got it, I did. In Star Wars (Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) his face gets burned up and melts, then it s totally deformed. I could tell that he knew what he was saying. Apart from that, the rest of my day was okay. In first lesson, the teacher was so funny. All of the teachers were nice, but some of them took a longer pause when they nogced me...i m used to it, though. At lunchgme, I sat with a girl called Summer. Everybody else sat and whispered about me behind their hands like they were invisible. I could see them, though; they weren t invisible. It felt like I was surrounded by a sea of snakes, their hiss of their whispering was deafening to me. When Summer sat down with me, the snakes seemed to slither away. We made a list of who could sit with us on our table. OUR TABLE!! We have a table! The rest of the day was a blur. All I know is that it was the best day ever, thanks to my best friend, Summer!

Maths Homework All pupils in all year groups will now complete their Maths homework on Ac:veLearn. This is in place of the MyMaths website that pupils used to use. Pupils, parents and carers can access this website via www.pearsonac:velearn.com Pupils have their own usernames and password which have been supplied by their class teacher. GCSE Maths Exam Dates Thursday 26 May 2016 AM; Paper 1: Non Calculator Paper Thursday 9 June 2016 AM; Paper 2: Calculated Paper Each paper will last for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Year 11 Revision Resources Our Year 11 pupils are currently preparing for their Maths GCSE in the Summer of 2016. Some useful revision websites include: GCSEpod: www.gcsepod.com Bitesize: hzp://www.bbc.co.uk/educa:on Ac:veLearn: www.pearsonac:velearn.com GCSE Revision: hzp://www.s- cool.co.uk We also highly recommend pupils to purchase the relevant revision guide from Edexcel which are available in both Founda:on and Higher. Puzzle of the Month Be the first to solve this puzzle of the month and give your answer to Mrs Swann in M3 to receive 3 house points. This Easter you are going to receive lots of mini chocolate eggs in a bag. What a treat! You are given 20 bags with a different number of eggs in each bag. What is the minimum number of eggs needed so that you have a different number of eggs in each bag?

Countdown to Examina7ons In just over 12 weeks the Year 11 Compu:ng Class will be si_ng their GCSE exam. This is on Wednesday 8 June 2016 in the morning. Make sure you are all checking the VLE in the OCR Compu:ng site under A451 on the revision tab for all the key documenta:on and skills test to check what you know. There is even a revision plan for you to follow to help you cover all the aspects you will need. Year 7 and 8 Embark on Python Over the next academic term, Year 7 and 8 will embark on the wonderful world of python. Python is a high level program language that pupils will use as they undergo the new compu:ng curriculum in Haughton Academy through to Key Stage 4. This language is used by many professional companies such as Nokia, Google and even out of this world NASA. It will allow our pupils to develop independent skills in computa:onal thinking, design and development. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will start to see the next Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or even Ada Lovelace. Use your skills to find out more about these people and Python itself. Work Experience Year 10 Work Experience will take place this year between Monday 4 and Friday 8 July 2016. If you are able to offer a placement to one of our Year 10 pupils, please email the details to clarsen@educa:onvilage.org.uk GCSE Core Science Exam Dates Biology: Tuesday 17 May 2016 Chemistry: Thursday 19 May 2016 Physicis: Wednesday 25 May 2016 GCSE Addi7onal Science Exam Dates Biology: Friday 10 June 2016 Chemistry: Wednesday 15 June 2016 Physicis: Friday 17 June 2016 GCSE Triple Science Exam Dates Biology: Friday 10 June 2016 Chemistry: Wednesday 15 June 2016 Physics: Friday 17 June 2016

GCSE DT Exam Dates The GCSE examina:ons for DT will be held on: DT Tex:les: Tuesday 24 May 2016 AM DT Food: Monday 6 June 2016, PM DT Resistant Materials: Thursday 16 June, AM DT Controlled Assessment Deadlines The DT Food and RM Controlled Assessment final deadline date is Thursday 24 March 2016. DT: Year 10 Food Technology Year 10 DT Food pupils recently made their first ever lemon meringue pies. These have the highest level of skill within the GCSE because of the different processes involved. As a first try they have done a great job for a difficult dish. Congratula:ons to all the Year 10 foodies! DT: It s Hammer7me! Sparks flew in the DT Department on Friday 12 February when it was Hammer:me. The challenge was simple; each house had a team of three volunteers (1 staff and 2 pupils) whose mission was to hammer 5 nails into a piece of wood in order to earn some more precious house points. Every bent nail got a point deducted. Ul:mately it was Nigh:ngale who nailed it with 15 nails hammered in, in 4:39. They were followed by Mandela on 5:23 then King with 6:11 while fourth place went to Kipling. Congratula:ons to the winning Nigh:ngale team which included Mrs Guppy and Ethan.

GCSE Ci7zenship Studies Exam Dates The GCSE examina:ons for Ci:zenship Studies will be held on Monday 16 May, PM 2016: Unit 1 Thursday 19 May 2016, PM: Unit 3 Each paper lasts for 1 hour. GCSE RE Exam Dates The GCSE examina:ons for RE will be held on Wednesday 18 May 2016, PM: Paper 1 Monday 23 May 2016: Paper 2 Each paper lasts for 90 minutes GCSE History Exam Dates The GCSE examina:on for History will be held on Monday 6 June 2016, AM: Interna:onal Rela:ons including Germany OR Russia Tuesday 14 June 2016, PM: Bri:sh Depth Study GCSE Geography Exam Dates The GCSE examina:ons for Geography will be held on Tuesday 24 May, PM: Unit 1 (Physical Geography) Wednesday 8 June, PM: Unit 2 (Human Geography) Geography Star Pupils A special men:on goes to the pupils listed below in Year 10 who have received an A/A* on more than one occasion this year in formal tests. Gemma Challans Ka:e Cockburn Brooke Mason Jack Tribick Hassan Miah Hussain Miah PSHE: Year 7 Study Emo7onal Wellbeing This term, Year 7 pupils have been looking at their emo:onal wellbeing which includes sense of self, self esteem and body image. Year 8 Discover Volcanoes and Earthquakes Year 8 pupils have begun work on their new topic of volcanoes and earthquakes. Pupils have been working so well, that every fourth lesson, they add more building material and art work to their volcanoes. The photographs show some examples of the work in progress. Watch this space for an upcoming erup:on...

GCSE PE Studies Exam Date The GCSE PE Studies examina:on will be held on Friday 20 May 2016, PM PE is on TwiJer Don t forget the the PE Department is on TwiZer. Folllow us at EV_Sport Sky Sports Living Project The Sky Sports Living P r o j e c t aims to encourage pupils to develop t h e i r knowledge in English, Maths and Science through sports par:cipa:on. Twenty pupils from Year 7 were selected to par:cipate in the new project to develop their grades in these subjects. They azended an extra curricular session in the core subjects then as a reward completed a boxing session on a Thursday auer school. On successful comple:on of this project, the pupils will be invited to azend a half day session with a Paralympic athlete. Tees Valley Dodgball Compe7on Pupils from Haughton Academy competed in the Tees Valley dodgeball compe:on in Billingham recently. AUer a series of some compe::ve matches our pupils got through to the semi finals of the compe::on. The pupils represented the school fantas:cally in terms of sportsmanship, manners and respec:ng other players. Year 8 Netball Cup Haughton v HummersknoJ Year 8 pupils competed in the town netball cup on Tuesday 8 March 2016 against HummerknoZ School. Unfortunately our team did not win the match and HummersknoZ will go through to the next round. Alana Milne was nominated man of the match from the opposi:on. Year 8 Town Netball On Tuesday 1 March 2016 the annual Year 8 netball tournament was held at Polam Hall. Our Year 8 team played against nine other teams in cold condi:ons and, despite not having a subs:tute, they fought un:l the bizer end of each game.

Haughton A[er School PE Clubs Monday: Table tennis, Trampolining, Swimming & GCSE Weights. Tuesday: Netball & Boys Football Wednesday: Volleyball & Boys Rugby Thursday: Girls Rugby & Badminton Friday: Girls Football & Dodgeball Ski Trip to the Italian Dolomites A group of 20 pupils from Haughton Academy recently enjoyed a week long trip to Sappada in the Italian Dolomites for the opportunity to experience skiing and other snow sports. A wonderful :me was had, as these fabulous photos show! Year 9 Girls Lead The Way AUer a number of successful training days, the Year 9 sports leaders have once again been taking charge at school sports partnership primary events. This term the girls have coached and officiated at the football and swimming cluster events, cheering on our feeder primaries as they go. Great job girls!

Music: New Keyboards Arrive Performing Arts Exam The examina:on date for Performing Arts is: Thursday 14 April 2016 Coming Soon - LiJle Shop of Horrors Haughton Academy s Music Department have just invested in 33 new state of the art Yamaha keyboards. They will be fully integrated with the Mac and PC computers in the M u s i c r o o m s w h i c h allows music technology to be used more freely in lessons. We will be selling the old keyboards at a reduced rate. If you are interested in buying o n e, p l e a s e g e t i n c o n t a c t w i t h M r s A r m s t r o n g o r M r s Downing. Haughton Academy Presents: Haughton Academy are pleased to present to you LiZle Shop of Horrors. This is the first musical that has been performed at Haughton Academy in over 5 years. Our cast and crew are made up of pupils from Year 7 to 11 and a few staff. Tickets will go on sale closer to the :me, but any pupil interested in taking part as part of the chorus should see Mrs Armstrong, Mrs Downing or Ms Taylor. Tuesday 12th July Wednesday 13th July Thursday 14th July Doors open at 6pm Tickets Adult 5 Curtain up at 6:15pm Child/OAP 2.50

Art: Lesson 6 Lesson 6 for Art GCSE are held on the following days: Mr HaskeZ s Lesson 6 is on Monday Week B Mrs Gorton s Lesson 6 is Tuesday Week B. Make sure you azend! Music: Lesson 6 Lesson 6 for Year 11 GCSE Music pupils is held on Monday, Week B. Lesson 6 for Year 10 GCSE Music pupils is held on a Monday, Week A. Art: Year 9 Portrait Success! Year 9 have completed a series of self- portraits to help them get started on their Inden:ty projects. Here are some examples of the best work produced so far. Challenge Courses: Some new courses for Spring 2016! There is a massive list for pupils to chose from; Running - Community Performers - MinecraU- ing - Kni_ng for a cause - The Wonderful World of Roald Dahl - Film Club - Beginners Chess - Drama - Slam- dunk Basketball - Puzzlemania - Primary School Mentors - Prac:se your instrument - LiZle Shop of Horrors - Art Therapy - Plastering School- learn a trade! - Le club de foot francais - CraUs - Record Breakers! Guinness book of world record azempts - Harry PoZer - Fitness training - Photoshop madness - Learn how to draw cartoon characters step- by- step - Jewellery making - Dancing - Star Wars Quiz Masters - Who- dun- it? - Super- size SloZed Sculptures

Family & Community AcKviKes in the Learning Resource Centre @ The EducaKon Village Movie Madness Free for all ages (6 weeks) Tuesday 4pm to 5.30pm from 12 April 2016 Lots of ackvikes based on a different film type every week. Paper Magic! Free CraX Sessions (6 weeks) Thursday 4pm to 5.30pm from 14 April 2016. A chance for the whole family to get creakve together. Paper as you have never seen it before! All ages welcome! Booking essen7al! For more informa:on, to register interest, or to reserve a place please contact Heather Daley in the LRC. Tel: 01325 248106 Email: hdaley@educa:onvillage.org.uk