Autumn 2011

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City Academy Norwich

AUTUMN ISSUE 2011

CITY ACADEMY NORWICH

NEWS

For more information, please visit www.cityacademynorwich.org City Academy Norwich Earlham Road Norwich NR4 7NU

Our sponsors and partners

Tel 01603 452628 Fax 01603 507215 Email office@cityacademynorwich.org Principal Mr D Brunton

Inside:

News & Events Lord Mayor’s Procession Student Trips & Activities

From the Principal

May I hope you enjoy perusing this publication and we will ensure that we keep you informed of the work at the Academy on a termly basis.

We have just completed a full Ofsted inspection and the practice inspection we held in the summer term has helped us enormously in getting the very pleasing grade that we have just achieved (I am unable to share this with you at this stage). This is a great compliment to the students and staff and the support that we get from parents and other partners throughout the community.

This publication reflects very clearly that we are a good school.

It gives a real indication of the range of activities in which we immerse our students, but also shows very clearly the work that some of our key departments do to support each other’s learning.

All of the activities that you see in this magazine enrich the learning experience of our students, but we never take our eye off the main purpose, and that is academic progression. My final comment is on the success of our last year’s students, that left us in the summer term, in their GCSE exams. The Academy has seen a doubling of

Mr D Brunton Principal

In June we asked a group of retired HMI Inspectors to come and inspect our school in the same way that Ofsted would. We wanted to find ways of improving to ensure that our next Ofsted inspection is very positive.

28 September 2011 18.30 - 21.00 Open Eve 07 October 2011 08.30 - 15.30 Staff Training Day 15 October 2011 10.00 - 12.00 Open Day 24 October - 28 October 2011 Half Term 18 November 2011 19.00 Quiz Night details to follow 10 December 2011 10.30 - 14.00 Xmas Family Fun

Awards for Academy Students Joshua Sturrock and Lydia Dew collected their awards at Norwich City College for 'The Best Student' in their chosen subject.

We found that the academy provides you with a sound education.

Both Joshua and Lydia have worked very hard in their final year and this has been

Behaviour has improved ed ook nd l l l e a strongly ew taff

s ar g You by the elopin r v e aft are de self you essive and r imp dence ills. fi k con onal s s per It has made good headway

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The Acad emy is w ell placed to go from strength to streng th

Dates for your Diary ...

City College

These were some of the comments made:

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the Government’s Gold Standard in GCSE results with 5 A*-C including Maths and English at the Academy. Not only that, but 92% of the students left the Academy with 5 GCSE passes and 97% of the students left the Academy with some GCSE passes, which again is a reflection of the rapid progress that has been made in the Academy.

Practice Inspection

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recognised by both students and tutors alike.

These awards were very well deserved and shows what can be achieved with hard work, determination and the right attitude. Well done!

ear 7 G&T visit the Perse School in ambridge to perform a play in Latin.

A small group of Year 7 students from CAN, who have been learning Latin at the Norwich School this year, travelled to Cambridge with their counterparts at the Norwich school, to take part in the ‘Ludi Scaenici’, the annual Classics competition held at the Perse school in Cambridge.

With the support of their teachers at the Norwich school and at CAN, our students practised hard to perform entirely in Latin.

Their play followed the story of a thief who manages to escape justice even in the amphitheatre.

There were some very confident individual

performances and the humour came across strongly. Our students captured the atmosphere of the day on film, with a selection of comments before and after the performance and edited highlights of the play all of which can be seen on our school website.

Students Visit Ypres in July

Holiday Club The club costs £13 each day and it is open from 8.00am to 6.00pm.

In Holiday Club, we do lots of things, like going on trips to the cinema, swimming, cooking and playing sport.

Sometimes we go to places like Pleasurewood Hills, Gressenhall and Duxford.

I like the club because its fun and I like to meet new friends.

On the 5th of July we took 34 students to the town of Ypres for a field trip, to visit many famous sites from World War One. We fitted a huge amount into the three days visiting the incredible set of preserved trenches at Sanctuary Wood, several different cemeteries

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and memorials and lots of different sites of interest such as field hospitals and the grave of the youngest soldier ever to sign up in

World War One. Some of our students also took part in a memorial ceremony where we laid a wreath on behalf of the Academy.

We enjoyed good weather and had fun exploring the local town of Ypres.

The students found the trip very interesting and enjoyable.

We all meet in the year 7 Zone – some students come because their parents work

Katy Harabajiu Year 7

and they want them to be well looked after and entertained in the holidays.

It is better for students to come here than to be home alone.

Sometimes students come here because there might be some family problems and the Academy can help with costs.

ritvic Enterprise Challenge

Year 8 and 9 students who have opted for either Business or Leisure and Tourism next year, visited the Britvic factory on the 8th July to participate in the “Liquids Means Life” Enterprise Challenge.

Students were given a tour of the Britvic factory producing Robinson’s fruit squashes before working in teams to pitch for a new brand of soft drink. The presentations were judged by Britvic staff, and the challenge involved the students having to negotiate with suppliers, decide on appropriate packaging and work out their profit margins.

Parents Coffee Morning

A parent's view I didn't think a coffee morning at City Academy would be for me, but since my son was attending the school, my partner and I decided to give it a look.

As well as having a coffee, we do activities, like art and craft and cooking, which as well as being easy, are used to help raise funds for the Academy.

Any time we had any concerns about my son, we talk to staff and

there is always advice and support on hand.

We help out with Open Days, Saturday morning Family Activities Sessions and most recently we were involved with the Lord Mayor’s Procession, which was an amazing experience.

It’s great to be able to help out and give a little back to the Academy.

I would advise anyone who has the time to spare on a Friday morning to come along and give it a try.

Ian Ramsbottom Parent

The Parents’ Coffee Morning is a great way of meeting other parents/ carers who you wouldn’t normally see, as most High School students get to school under their own steam.

We do various activities such as cooking, jewellery making, making things for the Academy Fun Days, and shopping trips. We even went on a Winter Walk in the snow!

The Academy asks us for feedback on things that are happening in school. It’s great to be involved in your children’s life at school. The whole family got nvolved in the Lord Mayor’s Procession which was good fun.

Gary and Xanthe Staddon

Parents’ Coffee Morning is held between 9am and 11am every Friday in term time at the Acorn Centre (Off Bluebell Road). All family members are welcome to attend.

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irst Runners Up Prize!

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After an early start, the minibus full of excited CAN students set off for Devon to the CHICKS residential holiday house.

The students experienced many new activities including rock climbing, horse riding and gorge scrambling, which became affectionately known as WATER GORGING (said in a Cockney accent)!!!

Each evening we were treated to an amazing three course meal, which

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was prepared from scratch on the premises and afterwards everyone joined in with evening games and quizzes. The students retired to their rooms around 10 o’clock for a wind down story and sleep.

Other adventures included an activity centre where the favourite ride seemed to be the log flume (which meant lots of soggy students and adults!), swimming and visiting an animal petting centre.

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Before leaving for the activity centre everyone (yes adults as well!) had to don face paints and fancy dress! Heads certainly turned on our arrival!

The last day came all too quickly and in the evening a disco was held with everyone joining in on the Karaoke machine. Farewells were said, tears were shed and everyone left with some wonderful memories and felt a little bit better off for the experience.

rip to How Hill This year we ran a couple of trips to How Hill Trust Conservation Centre in Ludham. The groups enjoyed a pleasant day out with beautiful sunshine and fun activities.

Pond dipping was a highlight and many students enjoyed the thatching. The trips were highly successful and we hope to visit How Hill again with new groups next year.

Lord Mayor’s Procession

Norwich Community West Cluster was formally launched in the Lord Mayor’s Procession on 7th July, when 150 parents and children from the 13 schools dressed up as Fairy Tale characters and danced behind their ‘Gingerbread Cottage and Garden’ float along St Stephens Street and past the panel of judges in Tombland. They were awarded a very well deserved First Runners up prize!

Rosemary Linley Extended School’s Coordinator

Genevieve Richardson from Year 7 said ...

I really enjoyed being part of the Lord Mayor’s Procession as the experience was a great one.

We all got to design our own costumes and work with younger children from our Cluster. We all chipped in and helped to decorate the float (it looked absolutely marvellous in the end).

Seeing everyone dressed up and taking part was a wonderful opportunity.

I’d like to just say thank you to everyone who helped and took part. A big well done – it was amazing!

Sporting Activities C

AN-D perform in Norwich SSP Summer Dance Showcase

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The Norwich School Sport Partnership (SSP) held its second Dance Showcase of the year on Wednesday 25th May featuring over 300 pupils from 12 schools. The event took place at OPEN Youth Venue and included music which has featured in movies.

ear 7 Netball Super League Match

Building on the development of netball at City Academy Norwich, 15 Year 7 girls attended a Netball Super League Match between Hertfordshire Mavericks and Surrey Storm at Hertfordshire Sports Village on Sunday 15th May. Netball Super League is the top netball league in the country and features the finest players in the UK along with international stars. It was a close and thrilling encounter right up until the final whistle, eventually ending in a draw, 48-48.

Also at the match was Mr Burgess, Head of Thompson House, as he was the reserve umpire.

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Larkman PS Trampolining at CAN City Academy Norwich has provided after-school trampolining sessions for pupils from Years 3-6 at Larkman Primary School.

The pupils attended six weeks of sessions led by Miss Tilson, which included learning the individual movements and then combining them to make a routine. Parents were invited to the last session to see the progress that had been made and pupils were awarded a certificate in recognition of their attendance.

orwich City Schools Athletics Championships (City Sports) 2011

City Academy Norwich took a full complement of pupils to compete in City Sports on Wednesday 18th May at the UEA Sportspark. This followed weeks of selection and practice sessions.

The overall results for City Academy Norwich are listed below: U13 (Year 7) Boys - 4th Place U13 (Year 7) Girls - 5th Place U14 (Year 8) Boys - 6th Place U14 (Year 8) Girls - 4th Place U15 (Year 9) Boys - 3rd Place U15 (Year 9) Girls - 5th Place U17 (Year 10) Boys - 4th Place U17 (Year 10) Girls - 4th Place Thanks to John Painter from CoNAC (City of Norwich Athletics Club) for his help in preparing the pupils for the event at the Athletics after-school club.

The members of the CAN-D group who performed were: Chelsea Ames (8H4) Levi-Demi Cawdron (8J3) Kayla Chapman (8E2) Lauren Downs (8J5) Jasmin Hall (8H6) Abbey Lee (8H2) Bethany Sadler (8T1) Lauren Sarsby (8J4) Kirsten Stimpson (8J5) Bethany Thomas (8E2) Chloe Woolgrove (8J3) Rebecca Yull (8T6)

Norwich City Girls Football Club

All 72 pupils did fantastically well with many of them surpassing their previous bests.

Congratulations to the following pupils: Carina Holmes (7J2) won the U13 Girls Shot Putt with a distance of 6.75m Tommy Blackwell (9E5) won the U15 Boys Shot Putt with a distance of 10.63m Jessica Wenn (10T2) won the U17 Girls 300m in a time of 49.9s

Dance Teacher Kathryn Green choreographed the City Academy Norwich routine and had been working with pupils for two to three months beforehand to help them prepare.

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orfolk Schools Athletics Championships Tommy Blackwell

Following his performance at City Sports, Tommy Blackwell qualified to represent Norwich in the under 15 year old Boys Shot Putt competition at Norfolk Schools Athletics Championships.

Tommy was competing against the best pupils from around the county and achieved 9.82m on the day, below his personal best, finishing in a credible 3rd place, and narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Anglian Schools Athletics Championships.

Thank you to Mr Denmark for supporting Tommy in attending the event.

City Academy Norwich has joined forces with Norwich City Girls FC to provide football coaching for girls in Years 7 and 8 over the Summer term. Qualified coaches from Norwich City FC delivered 5 weeks of after-school sessions culminating in a friendly match against Sprowston High School.

Thank you in particular to Kevin Wager from Norwich City Girls FC for making this all possible.

Inter-House Competitions

Year 9 & 10 Girls 1st - Jackson (141 points) 2nd - Holmes (133 points) 3rd - Thompson (117 points) 4th - Edwards (51 points) Year 9 & 10 Boys 1st - Jackson (162 points) 2nd - Thompson (125 points) 3rd - Holmes (101 points) 4th - Edwards (94 points) Year 9 & 10 Overall 1st - Jackson (303 points) 2nd - Thompson (242 points) 3rd - Holmes (234 points) 4th - Edwards (145 points)

Following a year of intense competition featuring 5-a-side Football, Netball and Basketball, Indoor Rowing, Cross Country Running and culminating in Sports Day, pupils at City Academy Norwich have been vying for their House to be crowned champions and claim the Sports Cup.

Overall 1st - Jackson (570 points) =2nd - Thompson (437 points) =2nd - Holmes (437 points) 4th - Edwards (394 points)

With the points allocation being doubled for Sports Day, there was everything to play for to see if Houses could make up lost ground.

The final standings taking all inter-house sports competitions into account are as follows: 1st - Jackson (12,250) 2nd - Edwards (7,800) 3rd - Thompson (7,100) 4th - Holmes (5,950) We’ll have to wait and see whether Jackson House can defend their title and continue their dominance next year.

CAN Sports Day 2011 Over 200 pupils took part in City Academy Norwich’s Sports Day on Friday 1st July 2011 at the UEA Sportspark.

In addition to the traditional athletic events, the day also included ‘fun’ activities such as an egg and spoon race, an obstacle course and a three-legged race as well as the customary tug of war, with the emphasis being on getting as many pupils involved as possible.

A total of 24 records were broken, some smashed, as pupils turned out in force to earn vital points for their House.

The overall results were as follows: Year 7 & 8 Girls 1st - Jackson (125 points) 2nd - Thompson (117 points) 3rd - Edwards (112 points) 4th - Holmes (102 points) Year 7 & 8 Boys 1st - Jackson (142 points) 2nd - Edwards (137 points) 3rd - Holmes (100 points) 4th - Thompson (79 points) Year 7 & 8 Overall 1st - Jackson (267 points) 2nd - Edwards (249 points) 3rd - Holmes (202 points) 4th - Thompson (196 points)

Top Up Swimming The Norwich SSP organised a Top Up Swimming programme at City Academy Norwich from Monday 6th June to Friday 17th June 2011. Top Up Swimming is an intervention designed to enable all children to achieve the Key Stage 2 standard in swimming by the end of Year 6 (i.e. be able to swim 25m unaided).

We have experienced great success with the scheme in the past, and this year was no exception. The City Academy Norwich cluster of feeder schools achieved an impressive 84% pass rate this year. This is largely due to the hard work of the school staff who accompanied the pupils, the swimming teachers involved, and of course the determination and vigour of the pupils who participated.

Every pupil who passed the scheme received a certificate as well as a voucher entitling them to a free swim at Riverside Swimming Centre. Pupils who did not achieve the 25m target received a certificate and were offered a place on a Summer Swimming Course funded by the Norwich SSP.

SLAM @ CAN SLAM@CAN was the first joint venture between The Garage and the pupils of City Academy. Dancers, MC’s and singers were completely inspired by the talented mentors who worked with them in the weeks running up to the show. The night had an urban flavour; showcasing street arts and showed students performing the tricks and skills they had learnt.

Over 30 students were involved in the show, many choreographing their own routines and writing their own lyrics, with over 120 taking part in the workshops led by professional dancers and musicians from The Garage.

Special congratulations to Lucy Myhill, Josh Buggs, Lauren Downes and Connor Browne who won a place to perform in The Garage Slam Night in Norwich.

And the winning name is . . .

Over 50 parents and children from 13 schools in our Cluster took part in a workshop on 8th June to design a new identity for the Cluster.

Consultants from an outside industry ran sessions on Logo Design, Wordsmithing and Making a Presentation. Participants then worked in teams to think of a new name and strap line, and to design a new logo. Finally, they presented their work to the Head Teachers from the 13 schools, who chose the winning new identity.

N Norwich Community West schools will be working more closely together in the future

orwich Community West!

on joint projects to improve attendance, attainment and behaviour in all schools. The Cluster is made up of the following Schools: Bluebell Primary, Clover Hill Infants, Chapel Break Infants, City Academy Norwich, Earlham Early Years, Henderson Green

Make City Academy Norwich

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We warmly invite you to our Open Days: Wednesday 28 September 6.30 pm - 9.00 pm Saturday 15 October 10.00 am - 12.00 noon

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Most Imp School in roved Country” the

Visit our website to find out more about us:

www.cityacademynorwich.org Entrance and Car Parking via Earlham Road FREE CRECHE

Duke of Edinburgh

City Academy Helps Local Community

t e G Fit

Since it’s re-opening in May 2010, the Academy’s community gym has helped hundreds of local people to get fit and stay in shape.

One person that has seen the benefits of using the gym is Sue Rose from Saint Mildreds Road in West Earlham; “I’ve been at the gym since August 2010. The gym is great and everybody is friendly and supportive. The feeling I get from going to the gym is fantastic and the comments I get from other users and my family about how I’m losing weight makes it all worth it.”

The groups showed tremendous teamwork, helping each other with the hike, putting up tents and cooking food. Evenings were spent around the camp fire, telling stories, jokes and generally drying off before heading into our tents for a sleep that some wished was longer!

We still have space for students wishing to do the Duke of Edinburgh award as an extra curricular activity. If you would like to take part, please see Mr Deal or Mr Wiliams.

Special Offer

The gym has a range of equipment including exercise bikes, treadmills, rowing machines, cross trainers, weight machines and free weights.

If you would like more information about the Community Gym either call the Academy 01603 452628 or email gym@cityacademynorwich.org.

For a FREE tour of the gym and its facilities and a FREE first session simply come along to the gym off Bluebell Road between 5.00-9.00pm Monday-Friday.

You can also now keep up to date with news, exercise tips and special offers from the gym by following “CANCommunityGym” on Facebook and Twitter .

Special Offer

Join

the

Community

Gym

during September or October and receive 50% off your first month’s membership. Simply show this artical to receive your discount.

Special Offer

Special Offer

A typical English weekend of heavy rain and scorching sunshine met our Duke of Edinburgh Awards students as they undertook their practice expedition in July. It was hard to know if waterproofs or t-shirts were the order of the day as the groups set off around East Harling, with their maps and compasses, hopefully to return without getting lost along the way!

Needless to say, some did take a couple of wrong turns but after a few calls, a hard look at the map and a bit of compass work, they were found and shown the right direction to get back on track.

CAN Sixth form students (16 yrs +) are able to use the gym FREE of charge. Gareth Henton from Earlham Grove, North Earlham is a regular user of the gym and said; “I have used the gym whilst attending Sixth form since about July 2010. I joined the gym because I wanted to improve my physique and strength, to help me with other sports.

I would recommend using the gym to all students at CAN as it could help build their confidence and help them relax after a long day in the classroom.”

The gym is open to members of the public to use from Monday to Friday between 5.00-9.00pm. A range of flexible and affordable membership options are available, including £20.00 per month for unlimited use (no contract) or £3.00 per session.

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UKMT Maths Challenge Awards to Five of our Rising Stars

Amazing new pupil service available within City Academy Norwich!

It’s not just the GCSE results that are grabbing the headlines!

Sixty high flying academy students from years 7 and 8 entered the 2011 UKMT Junior Maths Challenge on the 6th May this year.

Five of these students received awards; Aakash Weerasingha, Jodi Taylor, Connor Mather and Bethany Sadler won bronze certificates and James DeAntonis clinched a gold.

Well done to everyone who took part and good luck to the 2012 candidates!

r o f t u o e y e n a p e r Ke u o n o s w e n g n i t n o i t exci c e p s n I d e t s f O t s e k t e a l e w e c a l p k o o t which g n i c n e m m co ! . . . r e b m e t p e 19 S

In May 2011 we were contacted by Annamarie Dack, founder of The Youth Life Coaching Service about a new nation-wide initiative regarding the provision of coaching within schools.

Following discussions, we are now delighted to announce that from September 2011 ‘The City Academy Norwich Life Coaching Service’ is available to all pupils within the school.

Annamarie said “coaching brings out the best in a person, and when applied to young people it allows for incredibly fast development of the base life-skills necessary to suceed in life. It can be 13

applied to almost any issue, and provides support when young people need it most.”

Pupils can self-refer to the ‘City Academy Norwich Life Coaching Service’ and talk directly and in confidence to our coach, who can work with them on a range of issues including:

Confidence & Self Esteem Bullying Life Direction Study Skills Exam Stress Mind Mapping Behavioural Issues

Academic Achievement Levels

Communication Skills Understanding Success Decision Making Goal Setting Forms for referral can be found in the Acorn Centre, or via your child’s Head of School.

Our coach welcomes questions from parents, and is happy to discuss the service available. You can contact her by leaving a message with the Acorn Centre on 01603 274951, or emailing coaching@cityacademynorwich.