NEWSLETTER 22 nd June 2018 | Issue 44 PREFECTS ON PATROL For the first time ever we held a training day with 40 Commando for our new Prefects. Three officers came to the academy to speak to the Year 10s, to prepare them to take on their new roles after half term. They ran various leadership and team management tasks with them, including taking apart and running with a large field gun. Year leader Tamara Dixon, who organised the training, said: “This is the first time we have done this and certainly the first time 40 Commando has been invited into a school to actually train students! We want to make sure they are ready to take on the responsibility of being a prefect, as it’s not just about wearing a badge. The aim is also to teach our young people to be resilient and have the inner strength to be confident and authoritative in their roles.” Mrs Wilde Year 8: Kacey-Mai for being a lovely, helpful, hardworking student. William for offering amazing help in the music department and with a sports activity. Year 9: Alfie and Karen for just being amazing. Year 7: Ellie and Ryan for being fabulous, working hard and having a positive attitude. Year 7: Nathan and Nicole for being constantly fabulous. Year 9: Junior for great improvements in class. Molly for consistent high standards across school. Year 7: Radiana and Lewis for continued outstanding effort and positive attitude. STUDENTS OF THE WEEK: BBC Radio Somerset last week broadcast two lovely items about our prefects training session with 40 Commando (full report below). I was particularly proud to hear our new senior prefects being interviewed and explaining how seriously we, and they, take the role. It’s no longer about being handed a badge and being told to get on with it; we expect them to be active participants in our leadership team, to manage their responsibilities and to communicate their expectations whilst being respectful to others - all things the marines were happy to be able to guide them with on the day. If you missed it please do listen on the BBC iPlayer or follow this link https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p066vrvl we feature at 52 seconds into the programme, when you can hear Mrs Dixon and one of the commandos being interviewed; then again at one minute 52 seconds in when you will hear contributions from the prefects themselves. Another key moment this week was the Year 11 leavers’ event. The students had their last exam on Friday and we held a celebration of their time with us following this. It was a lovely event; tutors and staff spoke so warmly of students and it was illustrative of the superb relationships which have been established over a long period of time. It was touching and inspiring all at once. I am not sure there were many dry eyes in the house when Mr Brown announced he wished to buy the students in his form group a meaningful gift and then proceeded to tell them they were now sponsoring a young person’s education in Africa. We are extremely proud of the students and we wish them all the very best for the future. Mrs J Veal, Head Teacher HEAD TEACHER’S MESSAGE GOODBYE YEAR 11 Some photos from the Year 11 leavers’ assembly and BBQ on Friday. We wish them all well for the future and best of luck with their results in August! We have our end of year Creative Showcase on Monday 25th June, 6.30pm start. It will run for about two hours, with a 20 minute break. Family and friends are welcome to view the art and photography exhibition in the interval and a cream tea will be available to buy. Year 8/9 vaccinations for those who missed them last term will be at 9.30am on 29th June (after the Year 11 exams). This years’ Prom is being held at the Woodlands Castle Hotel, on Thursday June 28th 2018, starting at 6:45 – 11pm. DIARY NOTES WORLD CUP FEVER Being like a child at Christmas with the World Cup, I have been running a whole school competition to celebrate all things multicultural. With 32 countries taking part, we have come up with 32 different groups across the school of which each of these groups has a team. The groups are made up of tutors/faculties/ deputy heads/site teams and so on, whereby everyone is involved. Each group was given a flag of their country to display with pride on their door/area and they decorated the area with their country’s theme. The winners were: 1st place - 10KLA Colombia 2nd place - 8JST Mexico 3rd place - 8TKI Denmark The faculty award went to the English Department with Serbia. Opening will take place on 11 th July 4.30 to 6.30pm. All prospective students are welcome but the evening is especially aimed at Year 5 students and their families. We look forward to seeing you there! OPEN EVENING P R I O R S W O O D P A S T Join our friendly group at the Priorswood Community Centre Tuesdays 4pm – 6pm to research our local history, share photos and memories of times gone by. Do you remember Avimo – Cheddon Road Hospital – Somerwest – The Brewery – The local Trams – Bishops Fox’s School and other places lost to time? If so, please call us on 01823 353643 or email; [email protected] or just turn up on a Tuesday we would love to hear from you. Individual prizes were awarded to Leonard and Josh for their superb performances. The response from students and staff has been fantastic and I am so proud of the effort everyone has made. The school looks terrific and is filled with a diverse range of cultures and traditions. Mr Cox YEAR 5 OPEN EVENING IS ON WEDNESDAY 11TH JULY 4:30-6:30PM