HARRIS MESSENGER
APRIL 2014
Message from the principal Dear Parents, Carers and Students, Once more we reach the end of another term and hopefully the cold and wet weather! The Easter period marks the end of two thirds of the Academic year and the start of the final third. The term has been another very encouraging one. Students continue to work hard in their studies across all year groups and extremely pleasing progress results can be seen within the Academy. This time of year also marks the final stage of our current Year 11’s time before their final GCSE examinations. We are extremely proud of Year 11. They are studying exceptionally hard and continue to be supported by our teachers during the day, evenings, weekends and over the holiday periods. We ask all parents and carers to ensure that their child attends all additional revision sessions that have been provided as well as support them in private study at home. The next few weeks will have a major influence on the success rates of each and every student in Year 11 and determine the next stage of their educational career. We hope that all students continue to commit to the necessary revision and wish them the very best of luck in their exams. The Academy has been busy in many ways over the last half term. Year 8 and Year 9 students have both completed their options process for the selection of subjects to be studied in Key Stage 4. The Academy has decided to extend Key Stage 4 by one year, starting in Year 9 through to Year 11 from this year onwards. This will provide all future students with an additional year in their chosen subjects, thus ensuring the highest standards and success rates for all. Equally, Year 7 are quickly coming to the end of their first year with us. Students in Year 7 have been studying our new Content-Led Curriculum. Students will be expected to graduate at the end of the year at one of four levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. The ContentLed Curriculum ensures all work completed will prepare students for the start of their GCSE studies in Year 9. Further details regarding the expected levels of attainment required for each of the four levels will be provided after the Easter break.
Outside of the Academy, we continue to raise our profile. In my last message I mentioned the London Schools Excellence Fund project for which we have been awarded
£500,000. This project is based on our Content Led Curriculum that Year 7 are following at the present time. The half a million pounds will enable us to provide our curriculum to all London schools free of charge in the coming years. This term saw thirty five teachers from over nineteen different schools across London, come together at Harris Morden to work with our teachers and develop this new and exciting curriculum. In July the Academy will host a conference for up to one hundred schools. London schools will be invited to learn how to implement our Content-Led Curriculum and how we have transformed our Academy in such record time. Adverts have been placed in the National teachers newspapers and online websites. We have already received over fifty bookings in just two weeks! Further updates will be provided. Finally, I would like to thank all of our students and parents for supporting our new rules. This term we implemented two new rules; the ‘30 minute’ shop rule and the skirts length rule. I was concerned about the length of some of the skirts our girls were wearing. As a parent, I am sure you want your daughter to wear her skirt to the appropriate length (knee length) and not roll up the skirt to make it short. I am pleased to say this issue has been resolved and the very few who were doing this have now stopped. Equally, we introduced the ‘30 minute’ rule to ensure students have the opportunity to purchase food on their way home, but, must have left the local area after this time. Our local shopkeepers display our signs to support this new rule and have reported back, that our students are conforming to the requirements. As you are aware, we want to ensure our reputation continues to grow and little issues like those above will always be addressed if we feel they are having a negative impact on our Academy. This term has been another huge stride in our mission to be the leading Academy in our Federation and in London. Our numbers for Year 7 in 2014 have risen sharply and for the first time, this school may have a waiting list. This is tantamount to the hard work of all our Academy community and another indication that our work is having real impact!
Mr Mallin Principal
ART Outstanding Students Deja Lee B7B Dedication to classwork and homework. Alexander Sheard-Kubota G5 High standard of classwork. Danielle Vella G4 Skill and ability displayed in lessons. Kyra Watkins Poole G4 Making the most of her skill and ability in Art.
We have been very busy and productive in Art this half-term. Year 7 have been making individual clay tiles that will come together to make a magnificent image in the style of Gustav Klimt. We look forward to seeing the finished results. Thanks to the pleasant weather of late, Year 8 have been outside drawing the environment around them, these drawing were then transformed into the style of cubism to great effect. Year 9 students have also been busy looking at the Art and architecture of
Year 10 Human Form by Lea Ebanks B2
Year 8 Cubism by Daisy Mae-Deacon B2 Antoni Guadi and have produced lovely mosaics in his style.
Vinkita Dhawade Y5 Making the most of her skill and ability in Art. Jennifer Smith R4 Positive attitude toward exam preparation.
Now well into their GCSE course, the Year 10 students have begun work on the human form. They have recently had the pleasure of drawing a model for life drawing which went very well indeed. It is a very busy time for our Year 11 students; they are now working on their exam preparation work and are getting ready for the end of year exam next half term. The work is looking great and we are expecting another year of great success! Beside all this we have also had the Artists in Residence coming in every two weeks working with students on a wide variety of projects; these include pinhole photography and stop frame animation.
Year 9 Antoni Gaudi by Saskia Somanah R1
Music Year 7 have worked exceptionally hard on the ‘Variations’ of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ – most students have used the keyboards, but many have developed their own compositions using rap, beat-boxing and even glasses of water! A fantastic creative project which has spurred many students on to achieve excellent levels. Year 8 have been working in small groups developing the skills to perform ‘the Blues’. They have developed a walking bass, the 3 chords and improvisation skills. They have been inspired by John Lee Hooker, BB King amongst many Blues artists.
Year 11 GCSE students have submitted their coursework; some fantastic solo performances and amazing compositions which will be a pleasure to mark! The intense revision programme for their exam is now kicking in!
Outstanding Students Sean Wilson Y7A Outstanding contribution in class and at extracurricular. Willing to share his knowledge with others. Chelsea Perera R4 Outstanding contribution in class and at extracurricular – always helping out her peers in a supportive manner. Paige Walker Y3 Positive learning experience with her peers, leading to a huge development in her confidence. Silvia Bruni B2 Huge increase in her positive attitude and belief in her Btec work. A credit to her growing confidence.
Year 10 students continue to work very hard. We visited the O2 arena for a tour of the music experience. Students gained a valuable insight into the music industry and the history of pop music. They are getting primed for their exam.
mUSIC tECHNO
Adrian Freitas B4 An amazing confidence in his own compositions and performances which have resulted in exceptionally strong grades.
pm! 0 .4 2 t a s y a d s e L O GY c L U B - T u
Modern foreign languages Our Year 7 students have almost finished their first children’s book (written in the past tense in Spanish!) They really enjoyed reading about the adventures of a penguin called Chabacano. It was also fantastic to hear students explain the moral of the story which is to celebrate our differences and accept people for who they are. Our Year 8 students have been exploring the importance of water in Spanish, and discussing ways to save water.
Students have also worked hard to develop their knowledge of grammar by becoming more confident in verb conjugation. Year 9 students have enjoyed the topic this year on music, TV and films. Students have also worked extremely hard to rise to the challenge of achieving a level 6 this term, by mastering verb conjugation in three tenses and writing in detail. Our Year 10 students have been discussing the family and the different types of families that we have today in our society. Students are also working hard to develop their knowledge of vocabulary and grammar in order to achieve their targets Year 11 students are busy perfecting their Controlled Assessments and revising all the topics they have covered throughout their Spanish GCSE. Continue to work hard and complete lots of independent study, the end is in sight!
Spanish trip 2015 The MFL department is organising a cultural and educational trip for students in Years 7-10 who display exemplary behaviour at all times. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to use your Spanish for a real purpose! If you are interested, please look out for more information on the Student Message Board.
Outstanding Students Danielle Airey B7A Her hard work and effort in lessons. Luke Lavender R4 His enthusiasm and hard work in lessons. Savannah Macridis G2 Her motivation to achieve her targets. Skye Pearce-O’Sullivan Y2 Her hard work and effort in lessons. Shanique Matheson G2 Her good attitude towards class and homework. Shauna Marney Y3 Her enthusiasm and hard work in lessons.
EAL (English as an additional language) The Spring term has been one of the busiest times in the EAL department. All the EAL intervention students have worked extremely hard this half term, exploring a variety of topics and improving their reading and writing skills. For the speaking and listening assessment, the students had to come up with their own invention of a product for the teenage market and prepare a pitch in a Dragons’ Den style. English immersion students have been focusing on improving their English through a variety of language activities, whilst exploring many different topics like Advertising and Media. Students also learned about Chinese New Year and St. Patrick’s Day.
Student Interpreters
The ‘Learn a new Language’ session during the ‘Aspire, Experience, Explore’ week has been a real success. Thirty students have been exploring the culture and traditions of Poland and France; they have been learning the most common phrases in both languages and the day finished with the projection of ‘Le Petit Nicholas’ in French. Several Year 11 bilingual students have started to prepare for their GCSE exams in their community languages. Finally, a group of Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 students have completed their interpreters’ training and have become Student Interpreters. Their bilingual skills will now be used in meetings with parents, parents’ evening or visitors’ tours around the academy.
Outstanding Students Aleksandra Reut G7B Outstanding effort in EI lessons.
Darja Gavrilova B7A Outstanding effort in EAL intervention sessions.
Angelica Kaminska B4 Outstanding progress in EAL intervention sessions.
Fazelghani Safi Y5 Outstanding effort in IGCSE lessons.
Le Petit Nicholas - a huge success during AEE Learn a Language day!
English Before the February half term we held two English workshops in ‘Aspire, Experience, Explore’ week to explore the novels we were studying: ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and ‘Northern Lights’. Firstly we had a mask-making competition in which Deja Lee (B7B) and Faye Dacey (Y7B) won for the respective novels. We also rewarded Zubaida Salam (B7B) for keeping an amazing and creative reading log whilst reading the Pullman novel.
Outstanding Students Britney Grant G3 Working really hard to achieve targets. Kamile Jarasiute G7B Working over and above the expected standard and producing amazing homework. Savannah Macridis G2 Working particularly hard to achieve targets.
Luke Lavender R4 Later in the week we had a visit from Steve Harrington from Portals A polite and friendly student who is an to the Past who hosted a magnificent day that transported Year optimistic and enthusiastic influence in 7 students to Ancient Greece and the Trojan War. Students had the classroom. the chance to wear real helmets and armour and hold artefacts from times past. Lucky Ronnie Logue (Y7B) got the opportunity to try on the whole regalia! Matthew Taylor (B2) and Akshay Chundunsing (G3) won in the first heat of the Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’ competition at Harris Academy Merton. They represented Harris Academy Morden in the regional finals in March. Finally The Globe, in Southwark, put on a performance of the ‘Merchant of Venice’ which was enjoyed by a number of our Year 10 students.
Drama Key Stage 3 students are busy preparing their responses to ‘West Side Story’. Following a successful audition a number of students went to see a production of the show and are now devising and rehearsing for a creative response which will be shown in the Summer term at Wimbledon Theatre. Year 11 are working towards completing their devised drama pieces as part of the final unit for GCSE Drama. Many have attended Saturday and after school sessions. All students have worked hard in Creating Drama which deals with the given theme of ‘Contrasts’. Year 10 are about to write their first theatre review. As part of the GCSE course students are expected to see live theatre performances. To this end we visited the New London Theatre in Covent Garden to see a production of the critically acclaimed ‘War Horse’
Outstanding Students Riley Logan Y7A Enthusiasm and commitment to all tasks. Paeton De Coteau G3 Performance Skills. Tia Ellington R3 Performance Skills. Lauren Deutrom R4 Performance Skills. Sharukh Rana G2 Enthusiasm and commitment.
MEdia Year 11 students sat two ‘walk-through’ mock exams – in January and March – which successfully improved the grade of a number of students who are now on course to meet their target grades or better in the final exam in June. With valued assistance from Mr Webb, the students are also completing a diverse range of Practical Production Projects where they will produce a 2–4 minute short film. Year 10 students are in the process of completing their Individual Media Portfolios and have certainly made strong inroads into improving their individual grades. Their presentational skills in particular have moved to a new level. Overall, this has been a challenging terms for both cohorts of Media students but we have been impressed by the positive attitude the vast majority of them have shown. We are confident this will provide both groups with a solid platform for individual positive development during the remainder of this academic year.
Outstanding Students Paulina Marczuk R1 Consistent improvement in all areas of the course. Tia Lewis R5 Has developed into a genuine ‘A’ grade student. Abigail Koranteng G3 Has maintained the very high standard she set in Year 10. Malini Ravichandran R2 Constantly looks to improve on her own very high standards. Kate Vasiljeva R4 Has taken on and excelled in group leadership role. Akshay Chundundunsing G3 Consistently high standards and helps develop these in other members of his group.
Enrichment & Student Leadership Enrichment We have continued to run over seventy clubs, with boosters at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 being complemented by a full range of sports clubs, as well as activities such as cookery, the Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’ competition and EAL conversational club. A number of students also attended Miss Hutson’s lecture on ‘Design Through the Ages’. The new Enrichment Schedule for Summer 1 will be published on the website at the start of term.
Student Leadership There have been many opportunities for students to take the lead this term, with many students being selected to give tours around the academy for a range of visitors. The Student Council has been active in working to improve the food available in the Dining Hall. They have also selected the first Jack Petchey winners. Congratulations to Tiger-Lily Holloway of R7B for being selected as the first Year 7 winner. The current prefects will retire at the end of Summer 1 and we will now begin the process of selecting the new prefects from Year 10. Aspiring Head Boys, Head Girls and prefects should start to think about what they will write in their applications!
Jack Petchey award winners
Finnish Delegation VISIT On Friday 24th January 2014, Harris Academy Morden welcomed a high level delegation of Finnish Education experts to view the Academy in action. The tour was organised by Oppi (the group responsible for the largest Education Festival in Finland) and Microsoft for the Scandinavian School Partner group research project. The group selected Harris Academy Morden, to investigate the methods used to transform the Academy in record time. The teachers reviewed the methods used to produce a disciplined yet innovating education for students and improve GCSE results. Lee Mallin, Principal said; “It is wonderful to know that educators around the world are taking notice of our dramatic improvements and recognise how good this Academy has now become. Our Finnish colleagues were intrigued to learn about our structured, disciplined environment and how this impacts on rapid school improvement. The delegation was astonished to be taken on a tour of the Academy by students and see the Academy ‘live’ and witnessing first hand, how focussed students were in their lessons”. Marianna the representative of Microsoft said; “We are very grateful for the opportunity to visit such a wonderful Academy and learn how traditional methods of good behaviour are used to improve the students’ education and examination performance”. This international recognition is in addition to more local success. The Academy has been granted over £500,000 by the Lord Mayor’s, London Schools Excellence Fund, to lead one of the largest projects across London. The Academy have been tasked to provide training for schools and teachers, to support better performance in the traditional subjects of English, Maths, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Spanish and Computing. Lee Mallin, Principal said “We are delighted to have been asked by the Lord Mayor of London to lead such a prestigious project. We look forward to working with London schools to improve results in these very important subjects”.
History It has been an extremely busy and purposeful half-term in History. Students throughout the key stages have been completing a range of different activities to develop and progress in their historical skills and understanding. Students in Key Stage 3 took part in the history inter-faculty competition at the beginning of
this half-term. Students had to compete by breaking the codes of some famous historical documents written by Julius Caesar and Mary Queen of Scots. The students were incredibly competitive and have learnt just how important secrecy has been in changing the course of history! Students in Key Stage 4 have been working hard in their GCSE courses. Year 11 have recently finished their history course so can now focus on revision in preparation for their exams. Many committed students have attended revision booster sessions after school to make sure that they reach their target grades in history. Finally, students in Key Stage 5 have recently completed their mocks and are now fully focused on revision.
Outstanding Students Lukas Springer B7B Consistent engagement in History and always trying to challenge himself. Loren Cox R3 For excellent attainment in History. Wiktoria Zabjusc G2 Excellent focus and achievement in History. Clement Uzoukwu B2 For making significant progress in History and attending booster sessions. Natasha Waddell G4 For superb class work and revision notes. Savita Paul Year 12 Excellent revision notes and commitment to improving in History AS.
Year 11 Students working hard on their studies Students trying to Break the code
Geography It has been another busy term in the Geography Department and students have been working on a range of different learning tasks. In Year 7 Geography, students have been studying ‘an introduction to Geology’. As part of a very active term they have been examining different rock specimens and completed a mini-fieldwork task assessing the porosity and implications of rock porosity for people and the environment. Year 8 geographers have been studying the very topical ‘rivers and flooding’. They have been finding out why Britain was deluged in floods at Christmas and asking what should and can be done about it. In Year 9 students have been examining coasts and coastal erosion and this has culminated in students working in teams and using GIS on the laptops to assess coastal erosion on the Holderness coast.
Outstanding Students Emma Gilbert Y7B Exceptional ‘Exploring Britain’ test results. Roberto De Silva G5 Excellent attitude and commitment to his studies. Sarah Nkemala Y2 Persistent and determined attitude to increase her grades. Skye Pearce O’Sullivan Y2 Excellent progress and determined attitude. Menushan Herald G4 Outstanding Controlled Assessment score.
Year 10 students have been working well and they have now completed their first unit of study; they will shortly begin their second unit of study entitled ‘People and Planet’. Finally, Year 11s continue to work exceptionally hard, many now attending three booster sessions a week, including morning tutor time, to ensure their grades are outstanding.
Faculty Challenges Each half-term students at Harris Academy Morden compete in three 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 this term there have been challenges covering a large range of topics and events. As well as challenges in sport run by our PE department, this term Dodgeball and Football, there have been events focused on Spanish Culture, Cooking with the Ready Steady Cook competition, Code Breaking and App Design. Many students have been involved in one or more of the challenges this term with the honours being quite evenly shared between the four Faculties. After the second term the Blue Faculty are still in front overall, but the competition is tight with all the other Faculties close behind. There is all to play for next term to see who will be the overall winner for the year!
Maths The Spring term has been intense with all extra-curricular provision, mock exams, competitions and events all crammed into a short amount of time. Our Year 11 students sat their last two mock exams and we are pleased to result a 72% pass rate (A*-C). This is significantly higher than the corresponding results from this time last year. Saturday schools and after school boosters have been well received with many students attending who were not even invited! Year 9 have enjoyed a new scheme of work since Christmas and have excelled learning more advanced topics.
Outstanding Students Kamile Jarasiute G7B The PI recital winner! Charlotte Harling R3 Continued strong performance in class and during assessments. Harry Logue B4 Model behaviour in Mathematics. Shafi Sabiri Y4 Best attendance at GCSE revision boosters. Victoria Daka B5 Her first A grade!
Year 7 and Year 8 were the stand out stars of our PI recital competition. With over fifty competitors, it was combatted heavily between two Year 7s who managed to recite 112 and 140 numbers respectively. The PI recital was one of many events occurring during numeracy week which also featured a staff number competition. Students thoroughly enjoyed finding out which staff were allocated given number and doing sums with teachers as a result!
Religion and philosophy Year 7 have been exploring a range of beliefs about what happens when we die, from Hindu beliefs in reincarnation to the post-modern view that the truth of the afterlife depends on the individual. Year 8 have been finding out about how people make ethical decisions and have been focusing on whether or not war is ever right. Year 9 have been learning about how the world came into being and how we should treat it. Year 10 are focusing on issues surrounding human rights and religious duty. Year 11 are working hard in preparation for their forthcoming GCSE Religious Studies Full and Short course exams. Best of luck Year 11!
Outstanding Students Tessa Eveleigh Y7B 100% effort and positive attitude to learning in every lesson.
Krystina Peters Y4 Some incisive thinking coupled with an extremely positive attitude at all times.
Faye Dacey Y7B High level of commitment and willingness to contribute to in all lessons.
Natalia Orlowska G1 Excellent attitude to learning at all times, which has resulted in outstanding progress being made.
Riley Logan Y7A Fantastic attitude to learning. Always able to contribute to discussion with well thought out ideas.
Sarah Nakalema Y2 Extremely positive attitude to learning and involvement in class discussion of all issues.
Design and technology Pupils in Key Stage 3 have made a very promising start to their Resistant Materials projects so far. The quality of the students work is improving all the time. The students have been inspired by other students Resistant Materials work in the first half of this year and are determined to make theirs even better! The Year 10 Resistant Materials students are now underway with their controlled assessment coursework. They are currently researching specific areas to help them to design realistic workable ideas for either a adjustable lamp or a storage device. Students in Food Technology have been working hard on developing their knowledge of a balanced diet and making healthy fruit crumbles. We have once again seen how popular food technology is with a number of students coming along to cooking club on a Thursday to make oat crumbles, orange biscuits and soups. The Year 10 Catering students have been preparing for their first controlled assessment task and have made some fantastic dishes such as homemade lemon meringue pies, tarte Normand and lasagne. Year 11 Textiles students have now completed some beautiful garments designed for theatre and are now applying themselves to their exam preparation.
Outstanding Students Oliver Brett Y3 Excellent effort with practical. Hollie Newman Y3 Excellent commitment coming afterschool making a fantastic start to her storage box project. Nai Jie Tsai Y3 Excellent commitment coming afterschool to finish his mechanism on the mechanical toy project. Ismail Kamran B1 Good mock exam results and detailed research for controlled assessment.
Takunda Makwara R5 Consistent hard work in Food Technology. Zac Clarke B7A Supporting others in Food Technology. Ronnie Logue Y7B For teamwork and class contribution. Wiktoria Branecka G7B For superb effort on homeworks.
Physical Education This term has seen the start of the Athletics Development Club in preparation for the summer athletics events including Federation Sports Day to be held on 17th July 2014. Students have been attending in order to develop their ability with external coaches and numbers have been rising weekly. All students interested in representing the Academy should attend after school on Tuesdays from 3:30pm. The year 7 girls’ basketball team competed in the Merton School Sports Partnership basketball tournament in February and after a solid performance they came in 1st place. Year 7 gifted and talented students competed in the Merton School Sports Partnership Sports hall athletics competition in February and despite a good performance from many performers they did not progress to the next round. The Year 10 football team made it to the quarter finals in the Harris Federation Fulham Football competition in March where they came up against some tough competition. Despite this disappointing defeat they still remain
unbeaten in the Merton league and have the chance of being crowned winners at the end of the season. Attendance at extra-curricular clubs has been improving with a great turnout for cricket, table tennis , football and trampolining. Selected gifted and talented students attended the Harris Federation Climbing Competition during ‘Aspire, Experience, Explore’ week at Falconwood and we had an amazing result of 3rd place overall with some excellent climbs from Takunda Makwara (R5), Charmont Webster-Tape (R5) and Tia Ellington (R3).
Outstanding Students Riley Logan Y7A Outstanding contribution to extra-curricular clubs. Michelle Boa G7A Outstanding contribution to extra-curricular clubs and consistently good effort in lessons. Emily Pritty R7A Excellent attitude and effort in lessons as well as representing the academy in numerous fixtures. Jaidah Hunte-Brown G7A Excellent attitude and effort in lessons as well as representing the academy in numerous fixtures.
Navid Rehman R1 Outstanding contribution to Well done to all students who extra-curricular cricket. have been attending clubs in order to develop their practical Jack Salter B2 ability and to those who have Outstanding contribution to represented the Academy. Please extra-curricular cricket. continue to attend clubs as there are many more fixtures coming up including Borough Athletics in May and a variety of cricket/rounders tournaments. Look out for the Summer extra-curricular timetable and get yourself to a club!
Computing Harris Academy Morden is now on Facebook and Twitter. Please ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ our Facebook page: Harris Academy Morden.
Please ‘Follow’ and ‘Retweet’ our Twitter feed: @HarrisMorden
App design workshop We have had a programming bonanza this term. Key Stage 3 students have all studied Python and building text based games based on Dungeons and Dragons and in doing so getting to grip with functions. Some Year 8 students have been working in conjunction with Brother Technologies and Fulham Football club in designing an app for the club and Computing club students have been building ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ quizzes in Python. Year 10 students are finishing their AQA coursework having made some really successful counter games in Python. Year 11 have been bringing their web based applications to a close called Webs hare, a web application that allows users to share their links with the world. Of course this is a big term for Year 11 in preparation for their GCSE’s next term. We wish them all the best!
Outstanding Students Sean Wilson 7YA Fabulous Scratch work. Anjeela Thapa B4 Excellent Powerpoint work. Adele Smith B1 Real enthusiasm for Python and creating text games.
Students present their app design
Goda Baltusnikaite B4 Great enthusiasm for her GCSE coursework. Rochelle Knowles B3 Sheer hard work in revising.
science Key Stage 3 Students have just completed National Science and Engineering Week where Year 8 and 9 students investigated potential ideas to slow Global Warming completing practical work to determine whether storing carbon dioxide in the oceans or underground were viable solutions. Students in Year 7 looked at the importance of availability of clean water and then designed and built their own water filters.
Key Stage 4 Year 10 students have completed another piece of GCSE coursework and another mock as practice for the real exams in June. Year 11 students also completed mocks last week in preparation for their GCSEs in May and both groups are working hard to complete the course content and revision needed to ensure success in their exams.
Key Stage 5 Our Biology and Chemistry Year 12 students are finishing off their coursework and have completed mock papers in preparation to sit their AS exams in May. Both groups of students also attended Imperial College where the A Level Biology students focused on classification and nutrition and the A Level Chemistry focussed on mass spectrometry.
Aspire, Experience, Explore Week The Science and Maths department worked together to organise a day during ‘Aspire, Experience, Explore’ (A.E.E.) week. Our external visitors included Zoolab who brought in a variety of animals which included; snakes, spiders, for students to hold (if they were brave enough!) and learn about. We also had a visit from the Wimbledon Bee Keepers Association who taught the students about the importance of the honey bee.
Outstanding Students Esther Mbimbi Y2 For her hard work and dedication with revision showing fantastic progress and potential. Bill Faulkner G3 For his achieving the highest mark in his class in his mock Physics paper. Savita Paul Year 12 For organising her fellow students in a program of revision that they are completing independently. Daisy-Mae Deacon B2 For applying herself in Science lessons this term to move closer to her target. Omar Saemerhnd G4 For achieving a fantastic grade in his Additional Science ISA. Brandon Wilson Y1 For his dedication and determination to succeed.
Community As part of our commitment to parents and the local community we have delivered English lessons, family badminton and run a very successful Family Learning Morning this term, these are run in partnership with Merton Adult Education, who we are very grateful to for funding these.
Family Learning Mornings We offered parents the opportunity to come into school for the morning and spend time with their child as part of our Family Learning Morning. We were pleasantly surprised by the numbers and had to run two sessions instead of the one! Parents and students had great fun baking cakes and attending the maths lesson and were keen to know the date for the next one. Parents Comments: “It was great to see how the children are taught and to be able to learn with them”. ”Learning new methods for maths will help me to help my son at home and the cooking was great”
Family badminton Coach Simpson led a very successful 6 week family badminton course; the aim of the course is not just to keep fit, but to have fun with your child. Parents and people living locally are looking forward to the Summer Term sessions.
ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages Parents and adults living locally attend once a week and are getting ready for their English exam that will take place soon. Good luck to everyone!
For more information on these courses, or if you have a suggestions please email Mrs Neblett on Neblettd@harrismerton.org.uk
MERTON SCHOOL SPORT PARTNERHIP Harris Academy Morden Win Borough Year 7 Girls Basketball Tournament On Wednesday 5th of February, Harris Academy Merton, Ursuline and Harris Academy Morden competed at Harris Academy Merton in Mitcham for the Year 7 Girls Basketball Borough Champions Title. The tournament started extremely well for Harris Academy Morden who faced Harris Academy Merton in the first game: Harris Academy Morden stopped them from getting into any rhythm by being very proactive with their man to man defense and therefore with sleek offense managed to beat them comfortably 12–4.
10—8. So it was looking likely that Ursuline school would beat Harris Academy Merton for the win however, things didn’t go to plan for Ursuline; Harris Merton started playing as a team and found their flow on offense. They equalled Ursuline school for height, changing the outcome on the rebounds and took the win in the end 12—8. So it went down to point difference with Harris Academy Morden winning thanks to their fantastic performance against Harris Academy Merton. Well done girls!
Spirits were high going into the game against Ursuline school. It was a insanely tight game with both teams trading points until then end. However, Ursuline used it’s height advantage on the rebounds to seal the deal
Refereeing Primary School Y3/4 Football Tournament Twelve teams from Abbotsbury, Benedict, Cranmer, Haslemere, Liberty, Malmesbury, St Peter & St Paul’s, St Teresa’s and Singlegate primary schools came together at Harris Academy Morden on Thursday 20th March to see if Malmesbury could be dethroned as Morden cluster Year 3,4 Football champions. Refereeing over four pitches were six leaders: Hamza Shoble (R1), Abbas Abbas (G3), Takunda Makwara (R5), Charles Glover (G1), Charmont Webster-Tape (R5) and Kianna Phillips (B2). They did a very professional job of refereeing the 30 games over 2 hours and gained the respect of the pupils and teachers. Charmont Webster-Tape (R5) and Kianna Phillips (B2) were on pitch 1 where the finals were held between St Peter & St Pauls, St Teresa’s and Haslemere. They dealt well with the extra pressure of tight and competitive games and finally saw St Peter & St Paul’s win the tournament with St Teresa’s A in 2nd and Haslemere A in 3rd place.
gifted and talented There have been a lot of different trips and events for Gifted & Talented and Aimhigher students this term. In ’Aspire, Experience, Explore’ week, Gifted & Talented students from Year 8 and 9 took part in a theatre criticism masterclass, visited the Theatre & Performance exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum, and watched a performance of the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap. Harris Experience students visited Christie’s Auction House in South Kensington and the Greenwich Royal Observatory.
Year 9 Aimhigher students at Goldsmiths University of London A group of Year 9 students attended the Aimhigher conference at Goldsmiths University of London. They toured the campus, met university students, and participated in a range of workshops to introduce them to higher education. Year 10 students joined together with Harris Merton to attend the Aimhigher conference at the University of Sussex. They had a taste of university life and began to think about future education and career pathways. Gifted and Talented students have now been identified in every subject, and these students will soon be receiving letters informing them of the subjects that they are Gifted and Talented in.
Student Referral centre YES+ Programme Following the success of the Youth Empowerment Services (YES+) behaviour intervention programmes that were trialled in the Autumn term, the programmes were run again for targeted students this term. Girls from Years 9 and 10 completed the ‘Breaking Free’ programme which was facilitated by two ex-offenders from YES+, assisted by a member of our behaviour support staff. This 6 week course is designed to provide an arena for personal reflection on lifestyle choices, which supports changing attitudes and cessation of potentially damaging behaviour. During the same period boys from Years 8 and 10 attended the ‘Anger Management’ programme . This course incorporates fresh and innovative techniques to help young people better understand and manage anger related issues. A small group of Year 9 and 10 girls attended a twelve week ‘Healthy Relationships’ programme. The aim of this course is to provide students with information about unhealthy and potentially dangerous relationships and situations, arming them with knowledge on how to avoid, tackle and identify the early warning signs both for themselves and for their peers. “I have learned from my programme even though I want to react to situations it’s not always the right thing to do. I also learned that the way I I react or my tone of voice I use to people isn’t really nice and may come across as offensive.”
Keeping It Safe Healthy Relationships Young Persons' Conference This is the fourth year that the ‘Keeping It Safe’ Conference has run and that our students have attended it. This year’s theme was “Healthy Relationships” which fitted in well with the recent whole school PSHE day and the YES+ programme this term. Year 9 students represented the Academy and joined their peers from schools across the borough including our sister academy, Harris Academy Merton. The conference aimed to empower young people to feel confident to speak out about unhealthy relationships and become ambassadors around these issues within their own schools. Students participated in an interactive assembly followed by four workshops on the themes of Healthy Relationships; ‘Sexual Bullying’; ‘Myths Perpetuated’ by Pornography and ‘What Next?’ which started the process of students creating a campaign plan to tackle the issues. Our students were a credit to the Academy and made valuable contributions throughout the day. The group will reconvene at school to finalise their campaign and to roll it out across the Academy during the Summer term.
Dragons' Den' Challenge Want to win an iPod? Well, that is exactly what a keen young entrepreneur did during Enterprise week at Harris Academy Morden. Students were challenged to come up with an idea for a new App. Students researched and produced some amazing pitches which were presented to their Faculties. The best two entries from each Faculty were put forward to present at a grand final in front of our Dragons, Mr Mallin, Mr Goldsmith and Mr Humber. The final was a toughly fought competition in which several amazing ideas were presented. The contestant had to respond to some probing and difficult questions from the Dragons about the viability and profitability of their ideas. In the end the idea and pitch that was judged to be the best was from Mohammed, Year 8. Well done to all those students who took part and to the staff who supported the contestants.
COURAGE, CHALLENGE, SUCCESS