HARRIS MESSENGER
AUTUMN 2013
Message from the principal Dear Parents and Carers, We have once more reached the end of a full term.
It is therefore extremely important that all members of our community take the opportunity to relax, recharge their batteries and be ready to return in January, committed to the new term and the hard work that will be expected of them.
The term has been extremely successful for all. Year 7 have settled in very well and adjusted to the ‘Harris’ way of life and the Celebration Assemblies demonstrated their success with by volume of certificates many received! The whole Academy community has worked tremendously hard to continue our journey to Outstanding. I am very grateful to the teachers and support staff, who work tirelessly for our students and give many voluntary extra hours of work. Students’ behaviour continues to be exemplary within the Academy, however we have witnessed a couple of incidents outside of the Academy grounds, where one or two students have let us down and damaged our ever growing reputation. I ask parents to ensure you are clear of your expectations for your child during their journey to and from the Academy, therefore not permitting students to hang around unsupervised in the community until the early evening. Students should be expected to travel straight home each evening to ensure their safety, anybody not doing this and bringing the Academy’s name into disrepute will be punished. This term has seen the Academy rewarded for the fantastic progress we have made. We have been selected by the Mayor of London’s education team to run one of the largest projects across London. This project will aim to help develop teaching and learning for EBacc subjects across the entire London region. We are extremely pleased with this award and I will bring you further news about this over the months ahead. The New Year will see the Academy enter what I believe is the most important term of the year. The term we see Year 8 and 9 students select their GCSE courses and Key Stage 4 students complete very important aspects of their courses.
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ART It has been another busy half-term in the Art Department, and once again the work created has been outstanding!
Outstanding Students Jake Wyatt Y7b Fantastic effort and work produced this term.
Year 7 have finished their Self -Portrait project, and we are so impressed with the final pieces
homework of the week of work they are creating are relief panels, made with tissue and Modroc, based on the patterns they have been studying. Year 9 have been looking at the work of Kurt Schwitters, re-creating his collage work, and working on mixed media pieces.
Year 7 SELF Portrait Their images are now starting to be displayed around the Art department, with some also being uploaded to our Blog. Year 8 are finishing off their project on Aboriginal Art. The final piece
Anjeela Thapa B4 Always 100% effort and outstanding art work. Omotara Ajalaruru Y5 Consistent effort. Monika Kuklinska Y10 Great start in the Art Department, outstanding homework. Lavinnia Williams Mclean R4 Improvement in effort and quality of work.
Year 10 have been studying the work of Wilhelm Sasnal, and creating atmospheric landscapes, using different mediums and colour schemes. Year 11 are continuing their coursework with their Self-Portrait project, looking at other portrait artists for influence in their own work. We have also had our Artists in Residence start working with us this half term. They will be running after-school clubs every other Thursday, giving students the chance to enhance their artistic experiences outside the classroom.
Artists in residence
Maths The second Autumn term has been as busy as the first in Mathematics. AS level Maths continued to provide much of Mr Liversage’s focus and we wish the students well in their January exams.
Year 11 all took their mock exams and we are happy to announce 62% of our students are now working at grade C and above. This being a significant increase on last year!
Outstanding Students Eduard Ivan R7B Outstanding contribution to ‘mymaths’. Charlotte Harling R3 Model student who sits as a great role model for others. Jake Chittock R4 Outstanding contribution to mathematics. Sherzad Majid B3 A determined and hard-working mathematician. Mohammed Khan G4 His first A*!
Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 also took part in the faculty mental maths challenge. With over 50 competitors, it was the Blue Faculty who strived to victory over the 30 minute test. A special thank you to Ms Mccarthy who has relentlessly whipped our Key Stage 3 students into shape during after school catch-up club. Ms Mccarthy has also been assisting with year 7 intervention during weekday mornings and is completing a maths degree. What a star!
Music In Music this half-term, students in Year 7 have composed and performed Pachelbels Canon whilst Year 8 have performed using traditional Indian music. Year 10 BTEC have developed some great solo and ensemble performances. Year 11 BTEC have completed their first ensemble performance and research into ensemble musicians. Finally Year 11 GCSE have completed their solo performances with many A*s! They will now work on their free-choice composition. We look forward to our new topics in 2014 – Year 7 will be composing and performing music form the film Alice in Wonderland. Year 8 students will be travelling to Senegal to study traditional African vocal and instrumental music. Year 10 BTEC students will be working on a new project for their coursework and of course preparing for their exam. Likewise Year 11 GCSE students will be frantically
completing their composition and performance coursework and revising for the listening exam. Music are pleased to be working with Merton Music Foundation as the provider of instrument and voice lessons, further details are available from Mr Duff in the Music room.
Outstanding Students Michelle Boa G7A For an excellent performance of Pachelbels Canon. Karim Berrada R3 For excellent team leadership and group work during the Indian composition. Bailey Jones R5 For fantastic group management and work during the Btec unit on Marketing a product. Sam Baker G3 For excellent group leadership and management in his group performance of ‘Coming Home’. Kate Vasiljeva R4 For an amazing performance for her coursework of ‘Wake me up’ by Green Day.
English A group of budding thespians surpassed expectations at Shakespeare Schools Festival at the Secombe Theatre in Sutton on 15th November. Performing ‘Romeo & Juliet’ to an audience of 500, the cast performed alongside other schools, after a tireless day of rehearsals. The English Department offers a huge well done to the whole cast for their participation, with special thanks to Ms Cotton and Ms Catanzaro for giving up their time and expertise.
The final week of term saw Year 7 students attend an adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Waterloo East Theatre. ‘Scrooge & Marley’ showcased over 20 of the novel’s characters with just two actors! Students were highly
Outstanding Students Natasha Waddell G4 She received a prize from the Federation in regards to her contribution to the annual poetry anthology. Britney Grant G3 Achievement and progress.
engaged and found it scary, funny and festive.
Ellie Rollins G5 Hard work and determination. Connor Fletcher B4 Achievement and progress. Brandon O’Sullivan R2 Hard work and determination. Bailey Jones R5 Achievement and progress. Hope Carty Y2 Achievement and progress.
English teacher, Miss Catanzaro rallied students and staff to dig deep into their pockets with a fundraising fair for the Yellow Faculty’s charity ‘Children in Need’. The event was a great success with over £100 being raised!
Modern foreign languages Our Year 7 students have worked hard to develop their knowledge of grammar in Spanish through different contexts such as free time, personal descriptions and animals. They have focused on verb conjugation, gender agreements, and adjectives of colour and how to express their opinion. Our Year 8 students became Art critics! They have explored different forms of Body Art and expressed their points of view and the opinions of others.
Year 9 students have been studying about the Aztecs and the Spanish festival ‘The day of the dead’. They have explored its history and traditions which still occur today in Mexico.
to prepare for their Speaking Controlled Assessment on the theme ‘School and Education’. Continue to work hard; the final exam is fast approaching!
Our Year 10 students produced their second written Controlled Assessment on different environmental issues that affect their local area. Students are now more conscious of what they must do to become more environmentally friendly! Congratulations to 10B students who achieved A*-C in their Autumn 2 assessments. I am so proud of you all! Finally, Year 11 students have been working extremely hard
Year 8 Body Art - Is it a real frog?
Outstanding Students Faye Jacobs G7A Her excellent work and positive attitude in lessons.
Abraham Avice Y2 He achieved ‘A’mazing results in his end of term assessments!
Jessie Young Y3 Her enthusiasm and hard work in lessons.
Erica Dos Santos Saraiva R4 Her outstanding GCSE coursework and contribution in lessons.
Joshua Smilie B1 He consistently produces excellent work in lessons and in his assessments.
Isabella Mann Her continued hard work and excellent achievement in French.
Goodbye and Thank You
Welcome
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Tabozzi for supporting the MFL department this term. Thank you for all your hard work. Have a fantastic Christmas and we wish you all the best in your next post!
In January 2014, the MFL department will have a new member of staff, Miss Rojo. Welcome to the Harris family!
literacy This half term, we were delighted to officially open the doors to our TLC. The Language Centre was opened by our community partners. We are extremely pleased with the students that took part in the event. Well done! Targeted interventions have continued in The Language Centre this half term and students have worked hard to improve their reading and writing skills with the help of Miss Earl and the literacy prefects. We have had an abundance of entries for the ‘Reading for Pleasure Christmas Competition’. Staff members have been photographed with their favorite book jacket covering their face (as if reading). Students are invited to guess (or research, track down, hunt, cajole) which member of staff
each book ‘belongs’ to. Winners will be announced at the start of the Spring Term. Ms Willcox has been extremely busy this half-term creating an inviting Library space for students of all abilities. Lots of new books have been ordered and a request box has been made for students to suggest books they would like to see added. Stationery is now also available from the Library at very good prices! The Accelerated Reader 100% Quizzers display board is looking full and vibrant. Well done to all those students who have achieved 100% in their quizzes!
Outstanding Students Zak Clark B7A For his positive attitude to learning and his contribution to The Language Centre Opening. Ronnie Logue Y7B Has demonstrated a real desire to achieve. Leanne Marshall G7A For improved confidence and effort. Marshall Selvarajan B5 Has demonstrated a real desire to achieve and improve his literacy skills and, as a result, has made huge improvements. Samuel Powell B7A Has demonstrated a real desire to achieve and improve his literacy skills and, as a result, has made huge improvements. Shahrukh Rana G2 For supporting and encouraging his peers and for his contribution to The Language Centre Opening.
ACCELERATED READER 100% BOARD
lORD HARRIS' vISIT During Lord Harris’ recent visit to our Academy he was interviewed by our Young Reporters Natalia Wiklinska and Shannon Britton. Young Reporter: How do you feel about your schools? Lord Harris: I feel excited to see how you are all doing – our aim is to make all of our schools the same. Young Reporter: Why do you invest your money in our schools? Lord Harris: You all need a good education, like I did, and lots of schools don’t do that. I want to share having a good education with you.
EAL (English as additional language) At the beginning of the term The Language Centre was officially opened by our community partners: Siobhain McDonagh, Naseem Ahmad Bajwa and Slawek Szczepanski. Staff and students welcomed our guests and talked about our academy’s EAL and literacy provision. Our Year 9 students, Aleksandra Kowalska and Adeel Nasir, told our guests about their experiences as EAL learners and Fazelghani Safi, a Year 11 student from Afghanistan, talked about his achievements, ambitions and plans for the future. All the guests were impressed with our excellent EAL student ambassadors. All the EAL intervention students have worked extremely hard this half term, exploring a variety of topics like: ‘Ancient treasures’ and ‘Scary stories’. During enterprise week they focused on exploring their career opportunities and employability skills. EI students have been focusing on improving their English through a variety of language activities, whilst exploring many different topics like ‘Homes’, and ‘Jobs and careers’. Students also learned about Christmas traditions in Britain and around the world. The end of term and the start of the festive season have been celebrated with creative writing sessions and arts and crafts workshops, where students designed and produced their own Christmas cards. The IGCSE students have worked hard this half term developing their note-taking skills, as well as improving their speaking and listening skills. To celebrate the end of a long and demanding term the EAL department invited the hard-working students to take part in a trip to see ‘Aladdin’, this year’s pantomime at the New Wimbledon Theatre. This was an excellent opportunity for our EAL students to take part in a fun, cultural and very ‘British’ experience.
EI group presents their hand made Christmas cards
Outstanding Students Andreia Reut G4 Outstanding effort in EI lessons. Yildiray Ozerden B7B Outsdanding effort in EAL intervention sessions. Aleksandra Kowalska G3 Outstanding progress in EAL intervention sessions. Eliza Filmanowich Y5 Outstanding effort in IGCSE lessons.
Christmas pantomime at the New Wimbledon Theatre
History There has been a hub of activity as usual in the history department during this second Autumn half term. Year 12 students began their second unit on the Scramble for Africa and have been working hard to develop their analytical writing skills. All students have embraced the high volume of wider reading that the course requires and are therefore making steady progress towards their target grades. The Year 11 mocks have now been completed and students will receive their results in the New Year. These results will really help the students to see exactly where they are at in
their progress and what work needs to be done to ensure that they perform at their best in the summer. At Key Stage 3 students have been investigating a range of interesting topics. Year 9 have been developing their source skills in their study of World War One and Trench Warfare, Year 8 have explored how power changed dramatically during the Stuart Period and Year 7 have been drawing comparisons between Roman society and Modern society. Next half term will be even busier with lots of booster sessions taking place to help support students with their progress in history.
Outstanding Students Savita Paul Year 12 For excellent attitude towards her studies and the independent learning shown at all times. Connor Arnold G4 For consistently working to a high level in his GCSE course. Billy Lucas G2 For making excellent progress in history this term Anjeela Thapa B4 For consistently hard work and excellent attainment in history. Saffron Stewart R7B For producing an excellent Year 7 assessment
Year 11 Students working hard on their studies
Geography This has been a fantastic term for students in Geography and students in all year groups have worked hard and shown great enthusiasm for the subject.
Ally Hornegold G7A Outstanding end of unit assessment results.
Year 7 have been studying the local area and writing campaign letters to save St.Helier Hospital.
Kye Bowman G4 Exceptional effort and participation during every lesson, superb end of unit assessment results.
Year 8 have really enjoyed the ‘population’ unit and were fascinated to find out about the ‘one child policy’ in China.
Sarah Nakalema Y2 Outstanding effort in class and improving her end of unit assessment level.
Year 9s have been investigating ‘development’ and strengthening their numeracy skills by examining a range of different maps and data. In the last few lessons all students have been celebrating ‘enterprise’ week. For Year 10s this has involved their application of ICT and using ‘Google earth’ to investigate locations of transnational companies like Nike.
1 child - is it fair ?
Outstanding Students
Ronnie Wilson B4 Producing ‘outstanding’ work on his Google earth task during enterprise week. Jordan Southam-Singh B2 Excellent effort shown in class and homework throughout the term. Victoria Daka B5 Excellent effort shown in class and homework throughout the term.
Year 11s have continued working hard on their controlled assessments and I have been very impressed with their dedication and commitment to attain the highest possible grades.
Faculty Challenges Each half-term students at Harris Academy Morden compete in 3 Faculty challenges. Each faculty selects a Key Stage 3 and a Key Stage 4 team to represent the Faculty and try to win coveted Harris points. During the first half-term the Faculty Challenges were the Egg Drop Challenge in science, a Spelling Bee and Basketball. This half-term started with a Mental Maths Challenge being won by the Blue Faculty then a Sketch Off in Art, where students were drawing each other and members of staff, which was won by the Yellow Faculty. Green Faculty made a comeback in the final completion of the term winning the Trampoline Challenge. After the first term the Blue Faculty are in front overall, but the other Faculties are very close behind so all could change in the New Year!
ICT The Computing and ICT department are now in full swing. We are driving for the best results ever in our Year 11 courses of Computing and ICT. As we reported in last term’s Messenger we have raised the bar, and now we must keep to our pledge that we will do everything in our power to do even better in 2014. In KS3, Year 7 have been creating databases in both Excel and Access. We have a brilliant cohort of students this Year and they have been getting to grips with some really advanced database features such as input masks and macros.
In Key Stage 4, Year 10 Computer Science students have been writing a game as part of the AQA GCSE in computer science. They are programming a board game that is similar to backgammon. Other Year 10 students have been tackling their AQA GCSE ICT projects and other Year 10’s have been undertaking the creative digital media tasks of the OCR Cambridge course. Year 11 are continuing with the “Get up get moving” project in ICT and the AQA web application module.
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We are looking forward to AEE week and several proposals have been put forward by the Computing and ICT department and we will update you on that next term.
Outstanding Students Our Year 8 have been introduced to Python, a powerful object oriented language that is suited to application and gaming development. They have been writing simple quiz programs and text based games to aid their learning. Year 9 have been discovering functions in Excel. They have created their own spreadsheets making giood use of the advanced features of Excel.
William Leitch - GCSE Computing For some excellent results this term. Lewis Mitchell - GCSE Computing For some great work in class. Natalia Roznowska Y9 For the way she approaches the obstacles she finds in the way of her progress and the tenacity she shows in overcoming them. Tara Rousselot Y8 For her excellent contributions to classroom discussions. Eduard Ivan Y7 For his enthusiasm and his excellent classwork.
science This term the students worked very hard but also played hard!
WORK Mock papers were sat by our Year 11 GCSE groups and also by our Biology and Chemistry A Level students, some of whom did amazingly well and are mentioned in the outstanding students section.
The building theme continued with another STEM visitor and students being given the opportunity to buy K’nex materials to build the cheapest bridge possible that would span over a ravine (well, between two desks). Much fun was had by all and there was some impressive engineering seen in both activities.
Viren Patel Post 16 For gaining an A in his AS Level Mock Module 1 Chemistry paper. Michelle Sebel Post 16 For gaining an A in her AS Level Mock Module 1 Biology paper. Lea Ebanks B2 For gaining an A* in her GCSE ISA coursework.
GCSE ISA Coursework was completed by both Year 10 and Year 11 students and the students worked diligently throughout.
Menushan Herald G4 For gaining the highest score in the year group for his Mock GCSE paper.
PLAY Marshmallows and spaghetti were used to make an imaginary client a tall tower and students were paid (imaginary money) based on the height of their towers. However, halfway through the project the client decided he wanted an area to land his spacecraft on the tower (we did not make this up!) and all but one of the students towers rose to challenge.
Outstanding Students
Max Castle Y7A For an outstanding Autumn 2 result of a 6a. Tara Rousselot R7 For another outstanding half term result of a 7c.
The winning bridge
Keira Barnes B4 For exceeding her target with a 7c in the Autumn 2 assessment.
Physical Education Another great half-term for the PE department, with lots more fixtures being played and extra-curricular clubs still being well attended. Well done to the boys basketball teams for playing the most fixtures in the league. There is still an opportunity to be considered for teams, so if you are interested come along to training.
Special mention to the Year 10 football team for some outstanding performances this term with only 1 defeat out of 5. Well done to Ola, Clement, Biraj and David for demonstrating great sportsmanship and excellent play.
Outstanding Students Tessa Eveleigh Year 7 For excellent progress and achievement in trampolining and representing the Academy. Mia Gilmour and Casey Hogan Year 8 For commitment and effort in lessons. Billy Lucas and Lucia O’Brain Year 9 For good progress in PE lessons. Hannah Dacey Year 10 For commitment to extra-curricular clubs and Lennie Winson for progress in GCSE PE.
Please ensure your PE kit still fits and you have everything you need. Any missing items need to be replaced. HAMD PE Tracksuit tops and bottoms are available from student reception. Lessons will take place outside regardless of the cold so please ensure you are prepared.
Primary Schools' Partnership Students in Year 10 have been doing a 15-week sports leadership academy as part of their PE lessons. They have been planning and leading activities, developing their leadership skills and studying fair play and healthy lifestyles. The Academy ended with the leaders delivering a multiskills festival with activities they planned at Malmesbury Primary school.
Year 7-8 Girls Football Borough Champions On Tuesday 22nd October, Ricards Lodge, Raynes Park and Harris Academy Morden competed to see who would be the Year 7-8 Girls 6 a side Football Borough Champions at Ricards Lodge! The overall level of football was impressive: there were some powerful shots far outside the box, some fantastic passing to open up space in front of the goal and great defending tackles to save the day.
Food and Textiles We have been enjoying ourselves tremendously in Design and Technology this busy term. The Year 10 catering class has been challenging themselves with a variety of products from styling sandwiches for afternoon tea to making Christmas yule logs.
Outstanding Students Corra Cane R1 Consistently working hard. Conor Chambers R7B For improving his organisational skills in food practical.
We also enjoyed the technical challenge this term where students had to produce a gingerbread house in teams, with spectacular results. GCSE textiles have been developing some beautiful garments for their Controlled assessment themed on theatre costumes.
John Ivanoff B5 Tireless effort and class contribution. Antoinette Vassel B1 Well manufactured outcomes.
Well done to our fantastic students and staff for their help raising over £78 in producing cakes and cookies for the Macmillan charity bake sale.
Resistant materials Year 7’s have been working on two projects this term. The first in making a prototype personalised bookend using MDF. Pupils have learnt how to make a finger joint using some of the key hand tools. The second project has been to design and create mock-up chocolate bar packaging aimed at teenagers using Adobe Photoshop software, this week will see pupils creating the mock up from their printed design. Year 8’s have been working on manufacturing a high quality salt and pepper rack for the kitchen with the option to personalise the sides using a variety of materials. Students have learnt how to read plans and use the pillar drill to shape the top of the rack.
Outstanding Students Tessa Eveleigh Y7B Excellent quality homework and practical work. Anissa Rosen G3 High quality practical work and independent skills. Jake Chittock R4 Excellent determination and homeworks. Ismail Kamran B1 Excellent attitude, homeworks, practical work and test results.
Year 9’s have created a personalised storage unit using a variety of joint including finger and dovetail joints. Students have used a variety of methods to personalise their lid design. The Year 9’s are now on their second project which is to design and make a functioning mechanical toy using Cams to create different movements. Year 10’s have just made a high quality Pine spice rack working mostly independently to shape this and secure all the pieces together to make a working product.
COURAGE, CHALLENGE, SUCCESS