News letter - Welcome to our site :: The Dorcan Academy Feb 2016.pdf · News letter ... A group of Year 11 girls from The ... watch an international match. We hope you enjoy this

News letter

www.dorcan .co .uk

Message from the Headteacher 2

Beauty and The Beast 3

Have We Got News For You 4

Accelerated Reader 5

Hawks and Hedging 6

Jungle Roadshow 7

Science Club 7

Literacy in Football 8

Netball Trip to the Copper Box 9

STEM Event 10

Student Council 11

Carol Concert 12

The Sierpinski Tetrahedron 13

Photography Competition Winners 14

Dates for your Diary 15

Inside this issue:

Issue No: 15

Term 3: 2015/2016

Welcome to our latest newsletter. A group of Year 11 girls from The Dorcan Academy were invited to attend an event at St Joseph’s Catholic College to raise awareness of the benefits of studying a Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths subject on leaving school. The Dorcan Academy was pleased to welcome Swindon Town Football Club’s caretaker manager and the first-team coach to discuss the importance of literacy in football. Dorcan Nature Project students welcomed Jonathon’s Jungle Roadshow to their end of term session. Visitors included a Boa snake and a tarantula! The PE team organised a trip to the Copper Box Arena in London to watch England Roses vs Australian Diamonds netball teams. It was a great opportunity for the girls to watch an international match. We hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter.

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Message from the Headteacher

It seems unbelievable that we are now in February and spring seems to have arrived early with the sight of daffodils popping up all around! Year 11 are focused on preparing for their GCSE examinations, having received their prelim results in January and there is a real sense of purpose around the academy. There is a comprehensive timetable of extra revision and intervention classes taking place before and after school as well as in the half term and Easter holidays, thanks to my highly dedicated team of staff who willingly give up their time to do this. Last week we held a motivational study skills seminar for Year 11 students led by an external provider, which students found extremely beneficial as well as entertaining! They received a booklet to help them with revision strategies etc. so they now need to start revising in earnest. As an academy we are busy preparing our new curriculum for September which we believe will better prepare our students for success in their GCSE examinations, as well as enabling them to successfully pursue whatever career path they choose. The English Baccalaureate: a suite of qualifications including English, Mathematics, Science, a Humanities subject (History or Geography) and a Language is desirable for most Russell Group universities when selecting the best candidates. Whilst not all our students will want to follow this route we want to equip them to do so should they wish. We are delighted to have recently appointed two exceptionally talented teachers, Mr Brownlie and Ms Schlatte, as Head of Global Learning and Languages respectively in order to develop these faculties into high-achieving areas of the academy. A great deal of thought and discussion has gone into providing a broad and balanced curriculum, however, it is important to us that students’ future career aspirations are taken into account. Therefore, if we have not offered a subject which your child needs, please let us know. While it is not always possible to accommodate everyone’s preferences if we can create a viable group and have a quality teacher to staff it we will certainly do our best to try. Please make this known somewhere on your option form, along with which subject you would replace it with. We are working closely with our cluster primary schools to build on our already excellent transition programme, to ensure that there is a seamless transition from one phase to the other. We are focusing initially on improving literacy skills, a significant barrier to learning for many of our students, where our staff will work with Year 5 and 6 teachers to build on the good work already started. Recently some of our Year 9 students presented a fantastic play in assembly, created and directed by Ms Farrow and Ms Matyla, which highlighted the issue of spelling and helped us all in a fun and practical way to understand the difference between ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’, ‘practice’ and ‘practise’ and other commonly misspelt words. We are going to be taking the assembly on tour to our primary schools to share our good practice and to show off the talents of our wonderful students and staff. I have been pleased to continue my ‘Come Dine with Me’ lunches with students who have been nominated for achievements or positive actions within and outside of school. The students have the chance to eat lunch with me and share their views of the school. Most recently I dined with Lucy Scrannage (representing Swindon in the Gothia Cup in Sweden in July), Conor Law (British Gold Taekwondo champion), Sara Duciuc (translated a full admissions meeting in Romanian), Lauren Doble (Wiltshire Girls Under 15 Squash Champion) and Chloe Lawrence, Finley Sly, Colin Bates and Jack Townsend who have all been selected for the Wiltshire Schools either boys or girls U15/16 football squads. They informed me that they were excited about wearing the new school uniform, that they thought behaviour in lessons generally was good and who their best teachers were!!

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Beauty and The Beast

Helping to direct ‘Beauty and The Beast’ involved quite a few challenges and lots of hard work, but I’m extremely proud of the end result – what an incredibly rewarding experience! Months of rehearsals and dedication brought an amazing, magical show together. When I was a student at The Dorcan Academy I always loved taking part in the Christmas show as it was always an exciting time; so to be able to relive those wonderful memories was a treat. Plus, working with an incredibly talented cast and crew was the icing on the cake. The story of ‘Beauty and The Beast’ is magical and uplifting, and that is certainly how I felt when all was said and done on closing night. I am so incredibly proud of everyone who helped bring the show together. It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to have been a part of it. Of course, the show wouldn’t have been as great as it was without the tireless efforts of Mrs Matyla, Mr Allen, Miss Sutton, Mr Miles, Gina from DPAG for making the costumes as well as each and every single member of the cast and crew – you were all wonderful! I am so glad I was given the opportunity to be a student director because ‘Beauty and The Beast’ is one of my proudest achievements. Thank you to everyone who came to watch it and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I hope you all had a great Christmas and that 2016 is treating you well. Liam Duke Ex-Dorcan Academy student

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Have We Got News For you!

Katherine Sellgren, BBC News education and family reporter, visited The Dorcan Academy to work with some Year 8 students in preparation for their participation in the BBC News School Report 2016. On Thursday 10

th March classrooms across the country will be turned into

newsrooms to allow students to work like journalists for the day. The students will report on issues that are important to them locally, nationally and possibly worldwide. Katherine spent time with the students working on interview technique and helping them generate ideas for stories that they might want to research. It was great to have Katherine sharing her first-hand experience and we look forward to getting busy reporting. Be sure to check the school website on March 10

th to

see the results of our hard work. Miss Ross Teacher of English

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Accelerated Reader

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Hawks and Hedging

A visit from Sol, a beautiful Harris’ hawk, along with falconer Dan Willis was a fantastic way for the students to learn about the importance of providing habitats for small mammals. The students can now focus on planning grassy areas around the school to encourage mice and voles so that buzzards and other birds of prey can thrive around The Dorcan Academy. Our winter hedging program has continued around the school. These hedges will provide important habitats and homes for wildlife, help to improve air quality and play a part in preventing and alleviating flooding in the area. A huge thank you to the parents, students, staff and volunteers who turned out during the Christmas holidays to help with the planting. We still need your entries for the Winter Wildlife competition so I hope you can all get out and about at half term. This adorable photograph of a blue tit and action shot of a kestrel were taken by David White, one of the lead farmers in the Marlborough Downs Nature Enhancement Partnership. This group of local farmers have successfully implemented numerous wildlife and conservation projects since 2012 and they continue to help and advise Dorcan Nature Project students. Mrs Lowe Teacher of Science

Click here

to go to the Dorcan Nature Project Facebook page

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Jungle Roadshow

Dorcan Nature Project students were delighted to welcome Jonathon’s Jungle Roadshow to their end of term session. As you can see from the photos we were lucky enough to be introduced to some of his amazing selection of creatures including Bourbon the Boa, Fluffy the Tarantula, enormous stick insects, leaf insects and two adorable crested geckos. If you want to find out more about these incredible animals please click here or, even better, book a session with Jonathon’s Jungle Roadshow and meet them for yourself; you will be in for a treat! Mrs Lowe Teacher of Science

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Literacy In Football

On Thursday 14th January, The Dorcan Academy was excited to welcome Swindon Town Football

Club’s caretaker manager Luke Williams and first-team coach Ross Embleton to the Learning Centre. Arriving fresh from the training ground, Luke and Ross were met by twenty lucky students from Years 7 and 8. Much to Mrs Hardcastle’s relief, they weren’t all gathered in the Learning Centre ready for a kickabout! Instead, our tracksuit-clad visitors were here to discuss the importance of literacy in football with the students. Believe it or not, most footballers at all levels of the game are avid readers. In various ways being good at reading and writing helps footballers to become better players and helps coaches to be more effective at what they do. Whether this is reading through contracts when striking a new deal at a club or writing notes on an opposing team or player, literacy is a key player of the ‘Beautiful Game’. Luke Williams explained that he likes reading about history and at the moment is enjoying a book about the French invasion of Russia in 1812. He mentioned that he is inspired by stories about people going ‘against the odds’; very apt considering that only a few days later Luke’s Swindon Town side battled back from 3-1 behind at Crewe to eventually win 4-3! Coincidence? Along a similar theme, Ross introduced his ‘inner chimp’; a book which identifies how the mind works and provides the reader with insights into the way they think. For many footballers and coaches, reading provides a way for them to relax but to also to reflect on themselves. Luke shared with the group the best piece of advice he ever received from anyone in football, which was to ‘think in ink’, something former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers encouraged him to do. Luke explained that if you write down what you are thinking then you are permanently reminding yourself how you behave in certain situations. That way, you won’t make the same mistake twice! After taking pictures with the group and signing some autographs, Luke and Ross bid us a fond farewell. We thank Swindon Town Football Club for the fascinating insight into the lives of professional footballers and how literacy plays a crucial part to their success both on and off the pitch. Come On You Reds! Mr. Bonney EAL Co-ordinator/English

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Netball Trip to The Copper Box

The PE staff really enjoyed taking a group of mixed-age Dorcan Netballers to watch England Roses v Australian Diamonds netball teams on January 22nd at the Copper Box in London. After a tough drive through London in rush hour traffic, the girls arrived safely at the Copper Box in time for the game. After enjoying clapping the players onto the court and singing the national anthem we settled down to enjoy the game and cheer England on! The first half was really close and ended with Australia leading twenty-five goals to twenty-three. The half time rotations and new combinations did not help us out in the second half and England lost touch with the game! The fourth quarter was exciting for the girls to watch, with some gutsy play by England, but unfortunately the team just had too much to do. The game ended with Australia taking the win, with a final score of sixty to forty-four. All the girls enjoyed the game, especially the excitement of the first half, despite the loss and were grateful for the opportunity to see England take on the World Champions. A big thank you to all the girls for their excellent behaviour and for being great company! The PE team are looking forward to organising more trips to watch our local team, Bath, play in the super league this season! Mrs Barton Teacher of Physical Education

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STEM Event

Recently a group of Year 11 girls from The Dorcan Academy were invited to St Joseph’s Catholic College to take part in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) day. The purpose of the day was to raise awareness of the benefits of studying STEM subjects at A Level and beyond. It was also to encourage more girls to opt for these subjects. The girls took part in a series of fantastic workshops which were led by experts in their field and these really opened the girls’ eyes to the wider applications of a science degree. It was great to see our students taking the lead and working with students from schools across Swindon to solve engineering problems, extend their knowledge of organic chemistry and use their understanding of chemical reactions to make bath bombs. The conversation on the way home was about studying STEM subjects at FE College so it was a day well spent. Mrs Lowe Teacher of Science

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Student Council Makes A Difference

Museum of Natural History Visit

Thirteen Year 11 Geography students visited the Museum of Natural History at Oxford University to extend their geographical knowledge. During the day the students learnt about the history of the earth and had to use their investigation skills to classify different fossils and place them into chronological order on the geological timescale. The students also learnt about PROJECT VOLCANO LONDON; students used models to practise the monitoring of volcanic eruptions, tried on volcano safety equipment and modelled the different types of volcanic eruptions. Students also took part in a treasure hunt, during which they had to use information gathered from around the museum to complete a number of questions. Adam Shepherd was the winning contestant for Dorcan. All students enjoyed the day and it is hoped that there will be more opportunities for students in the future. Mr Brownlie Head of Global Learning (Acting)

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Carol Concert

In December we held the annual Christmas Concert at Saint Paul’s Church in Covingham. A great audience turned out to support our soloists, the members of Guitar Club, the Steel Pan Ensemble and Glee Club. The first half of the concert focused on popular tunes such as the Steel Pan Ensemble’s Every Breath You Take and Guitar Club’s Let It Go by James Bay. In between performances we had some traditional Christmas carols sung by everyone in attendance, led by Mr Miles and accompanied by our headteacher, Mrs Bareham. Carols included old favourites such as Away in a Manger, Once in Royal David’s City and Silent Night. The second half of the evening focused on seasonal favourites such as Steel Pan Ensemble’s Frosty the Snowman and Glee Club’s White Christmas and Merry Christmas Everyone. Throughout the evening we also heard solos and duets to showcase the hard work and talent of individual students; such as Jason Henry playing The Holly and the Ivy on his violin whilst accompanied by music teacher, Mr DB. The performers really enjoyed being able to share all their hard work with family and friends and got to relax with some hot cocoa and snacks after the performance. We can’t wait until the next performance! Mr Miles Teacher of Performing Arts

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The Sierpinski Tetrahedron

Just before Christmas, our current Year 10 students were set a challenge to build a giant Sierpinski* Tetrahedron. Students were tasked with building individual tetrahedra from printed nets. These were then collected before being assembled into the larger tetrahedron you can see below. The students were given two hours to complete the task and succeeded in creating a Level 4 Sierpinski Tetrahedron. Along the way students showed great team spirit and cooperation. You can see the project in action by following this link: YouTube or by searching for “Sierpinski Tetrahedron Dorcan” using the Youtube search facility. *The design is named after Wacław Sierpiński, a Polish mathematician. Mr Salvidge Teacher of Maths

Photography Competition Winners

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The Rotary Young Photographer Competition is a well-established national competition designed to support and encourage the development of photographic skills. This year students were asked to produce a portfolio of three photographs based upon the theme ‘Our World is Beautiful.’ Here at The Dorcan Academy we had a number of fantastic entries for both the intermediate and senior categories from the following students: Intermediate: Isobel Frederick, Rebecca Foster, Beth Larrea, Hope Broadbank. Senior: Sophie Blackwell, Ethan Maslin, Ella Pearce, Elizabeth Reaney and Joshua Rendell. There are three stages of the competition: local heats, the district competition and then the national final. We are absolutely thrilled that a number of our students have achieved first, second and third places across two of the competition stages so far: Local Heats: Intermediate Category: Hope Broadbank won 1

st prize. Senior Category: Sophie

Blackwell won 1st prize, Ella Pearce achieved 2

nd place and Joshua Rendell achieved 3

rd place.

District Competition: Hope Broadbank won 1

st prize.

National Final: to be judged in the coming months. Let’s wish Hope Broadbank the best of luck! Well done to all entrants who will be presented with certificates and prizes by the Mayor of Swindon, Andrew Bennett, on Tuesday 23

rd February.

Miss Madylus Head of Design Technology

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Dates for your Diary

Start of Term 4 22 February 2016

Year 11 Meningitis Immunisations 3 March 2016

World Book Day 3 March 2016

Blood Brothers Theatre Trip 3 March 2016

Visit to France 7-11 March 2016

DofE Bronze Group 1 Practice Walk, Marlborough 10 March 2016

DofE Bronze Group 2 Practice Walk, Marlborough 15 March 2016

Year 11 Photographs 16 March 2016

KS4 Celebration Evening 4-6pm 24 March 2016

Last Day of Term 4 24 March 2016

Start of Term 5 11 April 2016

DETAILS OF ALL THESE EVENTS TO FOLLOW

Now is the time for us to ask for your help with collecting Sainsbury’s vouchers that we can use towards sports and cooking equipment. With your help we can get even more kids to eat well, move well and live well in 2016. It’s easy to collect vouchers for Active Kids 2016 – they can be collected from 27 January until 3 May 2016 at Sainsbury’s stores, petrol stations and online at sainsburys.co.uk and you will earn Active Kids vouchers on your shopping. From fabulous new equipment to dance lessons, playground toys to cooking utensils, gym mats to class sets of basketballs, there is lots on offer for us to choose from. And all due to the generosity of parents, friends and Sainsbury's! Once you’ve collected your vouchers, please ask your child to hand them in at student reception. We are excited at being able to take part in this initiative again, and we hope that you will support us… the more vouchers we have, the more goodies we can buy which will benefit your child!

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The Dorcan Academy St. Paul’s Drive Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 5DA Telephone: 01793 525231 Facsimile: 01793 431461 Email: [email protected] Headteacher: Mrs S Bareham MBA GRSM (Hons)