SPRING 2016
Harris messenger
hARRIS ACADEMY MORDEN HARRIS MESSENGER Spring 2016
Courage, challenge, success
Message from THE Principal As the Principal of the Academy, I am informed of all the events and activities taking place. I attend as many as I possibly can and enjoy seeing the students perform and enjoying the opportunities the Academy provide for them. When Harris Messenger is released, even though I know all of the activities and events that have taken place, it still amazes me how many wonderful opportunities are provided to our students and the dedication of the staff at this Academy. In this addition of Harris Messenger, you will be scared by the clay masks in art; blown away by the trumpets in music; find peace in the Chapel Royal; tired out by our Mathletes; motivated by Mr Beezy; encouraged by our PE stars; “byc pod wrazeniem’’ by our EAL students; inspired by our ‘Most Able’ and hopefully not too scared by our Historians! Harris Messenger is a real insight into the Academy and shows all that read it, how amazing this Academy has become. Personally, I really enjoyed the A.E.E. Week (Aspire, Experience, and Explore). I was lucky enough to lead a trip to Hampton Court. During the visit we entered Chapel Royal. We were introduced to the history of the chapel by an usher and she explained that for the first time in 450 years, a Catholic service was permitted by the current Monarch. The Chapel is one of the most exquisite chapels I have visited; if you get the chance, I highly recommend a visit! The term is not just about trips and visits. Day in day out we expect students and staff members to work hard and meet our high expectations. I am proud of the students and staff. They continue to amaze me and collectively are a real credit to this Academy. All students will be sitting their end of term examinations soon to demonstrate the progress they are making. This is a real opportunity for students to shine and demonstrate the dedication they have toward their studies. Students
in all year groups must ensure they continue to progress day in day out so that no student is left behind. As you will have seen in the press, the standards required of students are ever increasing; examinations are getting harder and coursework is disappearing. Students need to ensure they take each year seriously, learn and develop their knowledge and skills so that they are prepared to face the new and higher standards that will be demanded of them when they reach Year 11. We encourage parents and carers to make sure students revise at home to prepare for their tests. For Year 11, they are just about to enter their final term with us here at Harris Morden. We have been delighted by their dedication and their commitment. Students have embraced the ‘twilight’ sessions, working with their teachers until 6.30pm each evening to ensure coursework is completed and as many past exam papers have been mastered. We are sure this hard work will pay off and Year 11 will be celebrating wonderful results in August on results day. We wish them the very best of luck and encourage Year 11 to continue to work hard and revise, revise, revise! As I write this piece, we have just been informed of the number of Year 7 places offered for our next intake of students. I am delighted to inform you that we have 180 students allocated to the Academy and a waiting list. The Academy is becoming a first choice school in the local community and is now oversubscribed! Just as our students orated in their version of William Shakespeare’s –The Tempest “We are such stuff as dreams are made on”. This is now becoming a reality for more and more students and parents within this local community who gain a place at Harris Academy Morden.
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on.” The Tempest
Art & Design Year 7 have just completed their project on ‘Monsters’ and are now moving on to working with clay. This will result in several mosaic pieces being created and then being displayed around the Academy.
Year 9 students have made a strong start in their GCSE Art course. After a series of workshops that have covered many techniques and the students are now using these skills in their own personalised project. Students in Year 10 have just completed their project based on natural forms which have resulted in a fantastic variety of large colourful sculptures.
Year 7 – Monster designs
Students in Year 8 are about to create interesting collages based on personal experiences and interests. These collages will then be enlarged into work that reflects the style of Pop Art. Year 10 – Human form by Anjeela
Year 11 students have now completed their coursework and are about to begin their exam prep which will lead up to their final exam in May. Good luck Year 11!
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Year 8 – Day of the dead mask in clay
Year 9 – Natural forms
Aspire, Experi A.E.E. Week - Spring 2016 Harris Academy Morden strives to create fantastic experiences for all of our students. To broaden the students’ experiences we run a week of ‘Outstanding’ educational opportunities.
Music & Dance workshop The whole of the Year 7 cohort participated in an exhilarating and enjoyable Music day as part of AEE week. Students got the chance to play different types of instruments and to learn a street dance routine. Students were given instruction on how to play the trumpet and clarinet. Lots of funny faces were made, which resulted in some quite interesting sounds being produced. At the end of each of these sessions, they then played a piece of music with varying degrees of success! Lots of energy was used during the Dance session, which was thoroughly enjoyed by students. Many students showed courage by performing the routine in front of their peers. Some students also executed a solo during the freestyle section of the session.
During February students were removed from their timetabled lessons to participate in the Aspire, Experience and Explore Week.
ience, Explore Hampton court PAlace Year 8 have had an amazing time at Hampton Court Palace exploring the gardens, the chambers, fountains and visiting the longest and oldest vine in the world. Students also visited the beautiful Chapel Royal at Hampton Court where the first Catholic church service for 450 years was performed.
'We definitely thought that the Queen's chambers were haunted!' Arthur - Year 8
Duke of Edinburgh Wimbledon COmmon During A.E.E. Week our Duke of Edinburgh students visited Wimbledon Common to practise their bearings and compass skills. They navigated their way around the wilderness using a map and a compass – it was cloudy otherwise we would have used the stars! Sadly we didn't find any Wombles living in tree trunks!
Mathematics Firstly, a big congratulations to our Year 8 and 9 maths team - Kamile, Eduard, Scarlett and Jovan, who competed against other Harris Academies in the Harris Federation World Maths Day Competition in October. They finished in 4th place after battling it out to gain the second highest score in the competition, with the top three teams tying with only one point more! Many thanks to Miss Bissessar for organising the trip and training our ‘Mathletes’! Our next team event is the UKMT team challenge in March - Watch this space! Year 8 and 9 maths team Meanwhile, teachers in the maths department have been enjoying the increased emphasis on problem solving in the maths curriculum, as well as trialling two new online maths programmes. TT Rockstars has given key stage 3 students the chance to improve their times tables whilst rocking out to some heavy metal music, and key stage 4 students have benefitted from an excellent new online resource, Hegarty Maths.
Whats Your Why? Academic Success Coach - Mr Beezy is one of the leading experts and highly requested speakers when it comes to student performance and academic success in the UK. Our Year 11 students were moved by Mr Beezy’s motivational speech entitled “What’s your why?” Students were inspired, motivated and in some cases even moved to tears!
Mr Beezy - What's Your Why?
Drama This year, students from 8XEN-1 performed Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Secombe Theatre in Sutton as part of Shakespeare School’s Festival, a global project that gives primary and secondary school students the opportunity to perform a reduced version of a Shakespeare play in full Shakespearean language in a professional theatre.
Students perform a scene from 'The Tempest'
This is the third year that Harris Academy Morden students have taken part in the project. Students had been rehearsing in English Literature and Drama lessons since the beginning of September to prepare for their November performance. Parents and staff members were incredibly proud of the exceptional and polished performance that year 8 delivered on the night, and we know that it is an experience that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
“Congratulations on the performance on Wednesday evening, I really enjoyed it. I thought the use of sound, especially the choral parts and stomping of feet were clever and effective, as was the use of drapes to form the sea. It was clear a lot of work had gone into making a young cast prepared to be on stage and they should be rightly proud of the results.” MR Gun-Why, Harris Federation English Consultant
Physical Education The year so far has seen some great sporting performances from a range of students and some impressive wins. The Year 8/9 boys and girls basketball teams got off to a great start this year, each achieving the title of Merton borough champions. As a result both teams made it through to the 2nd round of the London Youth games and faced tough opposition from schools outside the borough.
Well done to the Year 10 football team who are currently undefeated and have had some fantastic performances against Harris Merton and Raynes Park. Special mention to Dylan in Y7, who retains his title as the highest goal scorer. The Year 9 netball squad travelled to Harris
Academy Beckenham for the annual Federation netball tournament. There was some great play by all involved including our top goal scorer Amanda in B6 and some great defending by Megan in Y6. Congratulations to Emily in R5 for being successful in the Wimbledon Ball boy/girl selection process. We look forward to seeing you on centre court in the summer!
Basketball defence against Raynes Park High
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EAL English as an additional language It has been a very busy term for the EAL Department. The students yet again have shown resilience and great motivation to learn and develop their English skills. Their extraordinary levels of enthusiasm, and commitment to attending their intervention sessions and extra-curricular clubs prove that they are all hungry for success. Denisa in Year 7 and Stilyana in Year 8 have both excelled in their English language acquisition and so they deserve special recognition for their relentless effort, hard work and creative skills which have contributed to making TLC (The Language Centre) such a welcoming and student friendly space. Both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 bilingual students, who have now been entered for their community language exam in the summer term, have worked extremely hard during their weekly extra-curricular tuition sessions to make sure that their home language GCSE exam will result in A and A*. The tutoring provision will continue in the summer term and the students will be able to attend the language classes in French, Russian, Urdu, Polish, Dutch, Arabic, Portuguese, Turkish and Spanish.
Denisa - Year 7
Stilyana - Year 8
Hospitality and Catering As part of the Key Stage 3 curriculum, Year 8 students were given the task to design an idea for a pastry product based on their research. These designs had to be unique and new to the teenage market. The designs had to be annotated with detailed descriptions of what is being used in the filling of the product as well as the decoration. A creative design and use of colour was of paramount importance. Kalina in 8X1 created a unique design for her target audience. She interviewed a few students who gave her good feedback on her design. They said even though it wasn’t something they would particularly choose, they were sure that children would be intrigued by it. Students really enjoyed the module and have developed some excellent pastry making skills which I am sure they will use successfully in the future!
GCSE Catering Assessment by James
MFL Modern foreign Languages It has been a busy term and a half for MFL, but an enjoyable one! In September, Miss S Carpintero joined the MFL Team and has become a valued and popular member of the department. Our students have been busy working towards achieving or exceeding their targets. This term they have studied a range of topics across the key stages. Key Stage 3 (7-8): Daily Routine and School and Sport. Key Stage 4 (9-11): Music and TV, My free time and Technology. Special congratulations to our Year 9 students who have adjusted extremely well to the GCSE course and are producing work of an excellent standard. For Year 11s, the end is almost in sight! The focus is now on ensuring their Controlled Assessments are produced to the highest level along with revision of all topics covered throughout the GCSE course. With great resources such as Rosetta Stone and support through Twilights and Half Term School, our students have every opportunity to achieve their target grades in Spanish. Special Congratulations to Claudia Silva Elias, Joshua Smilie and Savannah Macridis for their achievements so far in their Mock Exams! Our extra- curricular provision is at an exciting phase, with our Korean club growing in popularity! If you have not visited our Facebook and Twitter pages, please do, as our students have been cooking and dressing up Korean style!
Korean club - cooking lessons
Students preparing their Korean food
Korean sea food!
English 'Macbeth'
HAMD Cinema Club
Year 10 students recently spent a wet and windy Saturday evening
This half term, the English Department launched the first screening of the Harris
sheltered in the warmth of the Young Vic theatre in Waterloo,
Cinema Club to enrich students’ understanding of the novels and plays they study
alongside their English teachers, and enjoyed a performance of
in their English Literature lessons. The first screening was of Steven Spielberg’s epic
William Shakespeare’s Scottish play ‘Macbeth’.
adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s WW1 novel, War Horse, which students study in
The performance aided students’ comprehension of the play and has been invaluable in supporting their classroom studies preparing them for their GCSEs next year. We applaud the hard work of Year 10 Literature students so far and look forward to their continued dedication.
Year 8 Literature, alongside the anti-war poetry of Wilfred Owen. The screening raised £17.80 for the Yellow Faculty charity, SOS Children’s Village, through the 50p entrance fee and a popular tuck shop, selling popcorn and juices. Students from Year 7 and 8 enjoyed the new surround sound and darkened setting of the Drama Studio, which transformed itself
The screening raised £17.80 for the Yellow Faculty
perfectly into an in-house cinema for the event. Look out for future Harris Cinema Club screenings of Trash, Jekyll and Hyde, Macbeth and Of Mice and Men after half term.
'Wicked' On 23rd September 2015, 30 Year 7 students watched the performance of ‘Wicked’ at the Apollo theatre in London and summed up the experience as incredible, stunning and simply beautiful! The production was breath taking at every scene and the students enjoyed every moment of it. This trip, compliments of Mousetrap Education Charity, was organised as part of the English Department’s Extra-curricular Programme. The students had a great afternoon out and have once again demonstrated that they can be great Macbeth - Young Vic, Waterloo
ambassadors for the Academy.
'WArhorse' Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo, the production of War Horse at the New London Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, London on Wednesday 16th September was an unforgettable experience for our year 8 students. Not only was it a night of spectacular entertainment but the production was the perfect introduction to the book that forms part of the year 8 programme of study this year. The trip was organised as part of the English Department’s ongoing drive to inspire, motivate and challenge students while at the same time enriching their experience at school.
Students outside the Apollo Theatre, London.
Most-able students Twelve of our Most Able students were selected to participate on the Brilliant Club Scholars Programme in October 2015. The Scholars programme gives students the opportunity to engage with universities and learn about ‘supercurricular’ topics delivered by PhD tutors. On the 10th November 2015 our students went to Kings University London to explore the university, ask second year students questions about university life and meet their PhD tutor.
Southampton University
On the 3rd of February 2016 our students were invited to Southampton University to explore the campus, participate in a tutorial on achieving their personal best and attend a graduation ceremony!
Launch Trip King's College London
The Launch trip was followed by three months of tutorials where our students learnt in depth about the Industrial Revolution and produced a 2000 word essay.
I am very pleased to announce that all of our students worked extremely hard, were fantastic ambassadors of our Academy and graduated from the Scholars programme! Special congratulations to Caio Graham Da Silva and Soulemayne Avice who both graduated with distinction!
Group work at Southampton University
Graduation Ceremony Southampton
MSSP Merton School Sport Partnership The Merton School Sport Partnership has had an eventful autumn term. The Academy has been very accommodating with letting the partnership use their sports facilities for primary competitions. Last term the partnership delivered the Morden Cluster Year 5/6 Best Team Football, Year 5/6 Girls Football Competition, Year 5/6 High 5 Netball Competition and Year 3/4 Multi Skills Festival. Each competition had over 10 teams take part from across the Morden cluster of primary schools. This is the highest amount of primary participants we have ever had for these competitions. The Academy’s Year 8/9 sports leaders were used at all these events by officiating and acting at team managers. The sports leaders demonstrated a high standard of officiating at these events and were great role models for the primary children. In addition to this, the partnership delivers several enrichment clubs for the school. Due to popular demand, Sophie Allen, Partnership Coach, delivers a table tennis club which attracts over 20 pupils each week. Becky Forshaw, Morden Sports Co-ordinator, delivered an 11 week, Year 8 leadership academy club. This involved the students going off site to deliver a Key Stage 1 multi skills club at St Teresa’s. These leaders will now be used to assist at future partnership events by officiating and being team managers. Schmarrah Boothe, Croydon Elite Basketball Club, delivers the weekly basketball club which is open to both girls and boys from Key Stage 3/4. The club has proven to be very popular and as a result both the Academy’s Key Stage 3 boys and girls teams won the Merton Borough Basketball Finals; both these teams will now represent Merton at the London Youth Games.
Morden Cluster Year 5/6 Girls Football Competition
“I really enjoy sports leadership as when I’m teaching the younger children how to perform the skills it gives me a real sense of achievement!" Ubaid Awan The partnership has also aided the Academy by taking pupils to offsite sporting events. Sophie Allen helped take some pupils to the Olympic Velodrome BMX Track, the pupils were able to take part in the BMX activities and were inspired by the Olympic ambassadors. Tom Gardner, Deputy Director also assisted by taking the Year 8/9 girls to the Federation Football competition at Harris Academy Merton. The girls finished in 2nd place which is a great achievement.
Morden Cluster Year 4 Multi Skills Festival
For more information visit www.mertonssp.org.uk
hISTORY During the Autumn Term, Year 9 historians were busy getting to grips with their new options as they started their new GCSE History! This exam has been changed recently. History GCSE will now require students to study more historical periods - it will cover 3 eras (medieval, early modern and modern) and will concentrate more on British history. There will be a new grading scale that uses the numbers 1 to 9 to identify levels of performance, with 9 being the top grade. Manroop Handa (R5) says that she is particularly excited about the historic environment study. The study of the historic environment should focus on one particular site in its historical context. The study should examine the relationship between a place and historical events and developments. The focus of study may range in scale from, for example, a particular building or part of a building to a city or rural landscape/setting. At HAMD we are going to be discovering the history of Whitechapel. We will look in particular at c1870–c1900: crime, policing and the inner city. This was the time of the infamous ‘Jack the Ripper’! We hope to update you again soon on how this exciting project develops!
Crime, policing and the inner city - Jack The Ripper
gEOGRAPHY The first half of the academic year has been a busy one for all Geographers at HAMD. Year 11 have completed 2 mock exams, showing that they are working hard to achieve the grades that they deserve. Year 10 have just made a start on their controlled assessment - looking at deprivation levels between two areas of Peckham. The trip was a great success. It was a much earned time out of the classroom, but was also combined with lots of hard work and some very interesting findings! Our uptake into GCSE geography tripled this year, showing the growing popularity and importance of the subject! Year 9 have been studying some very recent material on topics that are going to become a big part of their future. They started by learning about the El Nino effect, and the consequences this has on the wider world, including drought and tropical storms. Year 7 and 8 have been studying UK Geography and World Borders respectively. They have shown great enthusiasm learning about the country they live in, and other places from around the world. Well done to them!
The Himalayas, a Natural Border?
Students exploring Peckham
Religion & Philosophy Year 7 have begun an exploration of beliefs into what happens when we die comparing their own beliefs with Christian and Muslim views before turning to Hindu and Humanistic beliefs. Year 8 have been finding out about how people know what is true exploring religious and non-religious ideas about truth and different ways in which religious groups refer to the authority of sacred texts. Good luck to Year 11 who are working hard in preparation for their forthcoming GCSE exams.
What happens when we die?
Psychology Year 9 students have begun to explore some key areas in Psychology starting with Biological Psychology and the exploration of whether or not our gender is determined by our biology. An alternative and frankly bizarre theory offered by renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud was also explored and evaluated. They have continued to find out how we remember and the impact childhood attachment has on adult relationships. Year 10 students have been grappling with the complicated topics of perception and non-verbal communication. They have learnt a number of theories about each and coming to their own conclusions. This work culminated in their investigations into how context can affect our perception showing our psychologists that our eyes definitely cannot always be trusted. Year 11 have finished the course and are now preparing themselves in the final push to ensure they can achieve some good GCSE results this summer.
Charities Students have been very active in their charitable events and contributions this year. At the beginning of the year, each Faculty was asked to select a charity to represent and support. Students were particularly generous when we hosted our first FIFA Football Tournament for Key Stage 3! This event was a huge success and we are looking forward to playing the final to see who will be crowned as the FIFA King/Queen for 2016!
World book day On the 3rd March 2016, the whole of the UK celebrated World Book Day – a day dedicated to the love of reading and the sharing of our favourite stories and characters. The celebrations started with an assembly delivered to all three Faculties by Ms Sheppard, inspiring students to continue to go on journeys and adventures with their reading, and to learn more about themselves through the messages of bravery, creativity and equality conveyed by many great authors. Teachers & support staff joined in to promote a love of reading for pleasure
Students were delighted by their form tutors’ efforts!
A fantastic effort from the teaching staff!
On the day itself, teachers at Harris Academy Morden joined colleagues all over the country by dressing up as their favourite fictional character, to the delight of students across all year groups. There were magical appearances from the professors and students of Hogwarts, Gandalf and the BFG; Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West travelled down the yellow brick road that sprung up in the Library, and students spent a whole day comforting the jilted Miss Havisham and searching for Where’s Wally.
Students competed to get snapped with as many different characters as possible
To add a competitive edge to the day, students in the different Faculties were challenged to appear in as many photographs with theses literary personas as they could, grabbing photo opportunities with astronauts, Mr. Toad and the Cat in the Hat.
The show must go on… real lessons were still taught in imaginary costumes.
Mr. Mallin added an edge of mystery by donning a riddling costume made up of items representing a famous children’s classic, and whilst many students were able to join up the clues and guess at Ian Serrailier’s WW2 novel, ‘The Silver Sword’, Katie in B4 was selected as the winner!
“A big thank you to the English department for organising a great day! There were some wonderful costumes and the students really enjoyed seeing the teachers in character.” Mr. Mallin, Principal
‘wherefore art thou, Form tutor?’
Searching for Wally!
Inter-Faculty As usual we have a full programme of Inter-Faculty competitions planned and have already had some sporting events, a Design and Technology competition and a very successful quiz for Black History Month. We received the
In terms of the Faculty Cup, it is still all to play for, with lots of activities planned for the forthcoming term as we move into Literacy, Numeracy and STEM weeks!
following report from the History Department: The Red team was made up of Beatrice and Jovan, the Blue team was Ella and the Yellow team was Megan . A fiercely contested quiz brought about a Red victory after the quiz was taken to tie break between the Red and Blue teams. The Reds managed to guess closest to the figure required in answer to the question "How many South African soldiers fought in World War 2?" Year 9 and 10 Inter-Faculty Basketball - March 2016
Enrichment Year 11 have been exceptionally focused and have responded extremely well to the programme of after-school twilights that has been put in place to help them achieve their best in the Summer exam season. Many students have been onsite until 6.30pm every night, revising and catching up on work. Many will also be in over half term and the Easter holidays as they prepare for the final push. They are all working extremely hard, but it will pay off in the end!
In addition, we have a range of boosters and clubs for the lower school students. The sports and practical subjects are particularly popular, for example Animation, Cookery and D&T, Football and Cricket. There are still plenty of spaces in most clubs, so if you have not been attending, why not join something new in the new term?
Student Referral Centre This term the SRC have continued to support students by providing a variety of interventions, including one on one support and advice sessions, peer mentoring and the delivery of a ‘Positive Friendship’ workshop. This was facilitated by a member of the SRC team and two of our Year 11 mentors. We have also organised two ‘Drumnosis’ workshops, targeting a total of over 30 nominated students. This innovative and fun programme was facilitated by a practitioner from the charity ‘Jigsaw4u’. The facilitator uses a drum to break down exactly what happens in the human mind when we become stressed, angry or anxious and teaches how to use this knowledge to facilitate more efficient fun learning and to develop powerful yet simple coping strategies to deal with these feelings. All students engaged well throughout these sessions, the majority of whom stated it was very informative and helped them recognise the physical signs of stress and anxiety.
Students taking part in the Self-Esteem Workshop
The Tempest
World Book Day
Harris messenger - Spring Edition 2016 www.harrismorden.org.uk
Courage, challenge, success