HARRIS MESSENGER October 2012
Principal’s Introduction
Our first half term as Harris Academy Morden is now complete. This has been a wonderful start to our new journey together. There have been big changes, uniform, rules, improving behaviour alongside increasing our expectations for student progress. I am very pleased with the attitude of our students and staff toward the changes we have implemented and this is why they have been a huge success. Attendance has increased and now sits at almost 94%. This is below our target of 95% but already a 3% increase from last year moving beyond the National Average. Behaviour has greatly improved with more focus being shown in lessons. This obviously has an impact on exclusions and the need to exclude has dramatically decreased. Although all of the above are facts demonstrating impact of the new Academy, what is by far the biggest achievement to date without doubt is seeing the students embrace all of the positive opportunities provided. We have seen three marvellous inter faculty competitions take place; Sport, Spelling Bee and the Calculating Bee where hundreds of students participated. We have also seen hundreds of students take part in our weekly Assembly quiz (please see our web site for more details). In addition over two hundred students volunteered to support the Academy at our first open evening for potential new Year 7 students. This was a fantastic event where over 400 visitors attended for 180 places on offer next year. Parents were amazed by our students, demonstrating the true potential of this Academy. After the half term break Year 11 students will begin their first examination period of the year with critical exams between November 5th- 8th for Maths and Science. Please see our web site for full details. The half term break will bring a well-deserved rest for students and staff and ensure everyone is refreshed and eager to start the new term!
Inter-Faculty Events Football
September marked the beginning of our Inter-Faculty Sports competitions with the first being the Inter-Faculty Football event. Each day after school, Faculties were proudly represented out on our Astro Turf. Every student played well aiming to be the winning team in their Year group. The event was well attended and over the course of the week, there were well over 200 students which is fantastic! We would like to thank all of those students that participated and represented their faculties with pride. A very special thanks must go to our sports leaders in Year 11 who attended each afternoon and volunteered their services to help support the staff. (Year 11 Sports Leader: Charlotte Brewer, Luke Smith, Anas Shoble, Paige Smith, Julian Harvey-Agyemang and Natalie Ashen). Congratulations go to the Green Faculty for their victory in the first sports event this half term. The Inter-Faculty sports competitions will continue to run throughout the year with basketball being our next event early next half term.
Spelling Bee Competition We were absolutely delighted with the enthusiasm displayed by all the students who came along to the first Inter-Faculty Spelling Bee. The atmosphere was very competitive throughout the week. As you can see from the photos, staff and students alike were quite tense as we all hoped our faculty would be victorious! It was wonderful to see each and every student working so well as part of a team and encouraging their fellow faculty members. A special mention goes to Blue Faculty who performed exceptionally well, with their teams from Years 7, 8 and 9 winning thanks to a combination of hard work, focus, and strong support from staff and students.
Overall Winners Football Green Faculty
Spelling Bee Blue Faculty
Calculation Bee Competition This was a very exciting competition and the students participated with great enthusiasm. The spectators cheered their teams along and encouragement was given to all participants by students as well as some very competitive teachers. The event included a round where students had a limited time to answer questions and a quick fire round open to all teams. A special mention goes to Mr. Duff who was an exceptional master of ceremonies and made sure that the event was enjoyed by everyone. It was truly an outstanding event and I am sure students will enjoy the event even more next year judging by the success of it this year. The Inter-Faculty competitions will continue to run throughout the year with more competitions after half term. Watch this space for further news updates!
Calculation Bee Yellow Faculty