INTREPIDUS Summer 2016

THE OFFICIAL KENSINGTON ALDRIDGE ACADEMY MAGAZINE

#6 Summer 2016

D r a m a , s p o r t s , d e bat i n g & m o r e

PRINCIPAL’S WELCOME In this ISSUE...

DebateMate win

2

House Drama

3-4

Sports Day

5-6

Bugsy Malone

7-8

Street Dance Team

9

Art assessment work

9

Theatre trip

9

Summer Exhibition

10

National Army Museum workshop

11

Natural History Museum trip

11

Outward Bound trip

12

Premier League Reading Stars

13

Voices writing festival

14

PGL - Year 7 Residential

15-16

Swimming Gala

17

Football Championship finals

18

Lords Cricket Trip

18

Year 6 Induction

19

Sixth Form Induction

19

Creates Day

20

Parent Calendar

Dear Parents / Carers, It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this, our final INTREPIDUS magazine of the academic year. It is chock full of students’ achievements from what has been a very busy and very successful term here at KAA. The achievements come from, as ever, the full gamut of academy life: sports, drama, music, art, entrepreneurship, residential trips, and more academic activities such as creative writing, history and debating. If I had to identify a common theme to all these events and activities it would be, quite simply, aspiration. KAA is a school community that aspires to achieve the very best results; not just some of the time, and in certain areas, but in everything that it does.

This focus on excellence, and the belief that the sky is the limit for what this academy can achieve, is, for me, what comes shining through the pictures and stories on the pages that follow.

I am grateful as ever to parents for their continued support. I want to thank in particular all those who came to support the production, it was greatly appreciated. Next year will be a busy one for us at KAA, with four year groups in the school, our first Ofsted inspection, our first set of exam results, and many other firsts no doubt (you get used to them here at KAA). However, we have so much to help us as we grow, not least fantastic students, brilliant parents, committed governors and a terrific and talented staff team.

I wish all members of the KAA community a happy and Back page restful holiday. We’ll see all current students on Monday 5th September, bright and early, for their induction days into Y8 & Y9.

Intrepidus,

David Benson

Oxford Union to compete in the Literacy for Life DebateMate challenge. The teams competed against schools from the National Literacy Trust’s Literacy for Life programme, including Darwen Aldridge Community Academy and Brighton Aldridge Academy.

DEBATING

On Friday 1st July Miss Barbary took two teams to the

Taif (8 Chaplin), Ahmed (8 Berners-Lee) and Jainaba (7 Matisse) made up KAA’s A Team, whilst Ellen (8 Kidston), Leila (8 Dyson), Georgina (7 Lennon) and Leah (8 Simmons) competed as the KAA B Team. Special mention must go to Ahmed for speaking twice as both speaker and summariser for his team!

After the first debate, students were given feedback and

tried to act upon this in the second round. The final was announced and KAA’s B Team qualified after winning both of their heats.

The final debate was held in the main hall of the Oxford Union where figures such as Winston Churchill, David Cameron, Yoko Ono and Albert Einstein have spoken.

The team had big smiles on their faces as they opposed the motion “This house believes the voting age should be

reduced to 13”.

The advice given to the team after the heats did not fall on deaf ears and the team was rewarded with an impressive trophy after a fantastic win!

2

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

This year’s House Drama competition focused on monologues

and

duologues

-

a

competition

requiring incredible resilience and Intrepidus from the competitors. Three performances were selected by each Head

of

House to

represent

Franklin, Pankhurst,

Honeyball and Angelou. Excitement brewed across the academy as the 3000 points up for grabs could change everything in the race for the House Cup… The finals were judged by a VIP panel of stage and screen actors; Max Calandrew, Charlie Hawkins and Julia Pagett were joined by our new Drama teacher, Miss Gurnell. Our students were lucky enough to be treated to not one but two monologues from the fantastic Max Calandrew.

Student

performances

included

self-penned

scenes,

Shakespearian comedy and tragedy, and duologues from plays such as Blood Brothers and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The judges were extremely impressed by the quality of every single performance and praised the students for the incredible commitment they had put into preparing for the show. The resilience displayed by these finalists was extraordinary, learning their lines and rehearsing tirelessly in the run-up to the finals.

Maisie’s Lady Macbeth monologue wowed the judges and took 1st place, with 3000 house points going to Angelou.

Musa’s Shylock monologue from The Merchant of Venice came 2nd, and Cam’Ron was awarded 3rd place for his Hamlet monologue.

Thank you to the Heads of Houses for their work coaching and selecting their finalists and to the judges for joining us for this House Competition.

Position

House

Points

1st

Angelou

3000

2nd

Honeyball

2000

3

Franklin

1000

th

Honeyball & Franklin

250 each

rd

3

4 =

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

4

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

On Friday 15th July the whole school walked to the Linford Christie Stadium for an action-packed day of track and field events, with each house keen to earn themselves an additional 2000 house points in the final House Competition of the year.

Students decked themselves in house colours, face paint, glitter and banners to cheer on the athletes from their house. The atmosphere throughout the day remained festive as the competition developed.

The day began with the javelin, shot put, high jump, long jump, 400 metres, 200 metres and 100 metre hurdles. At the first points update after these events it looked as though last year’s Sports Day winners Pankhurst were going to retain their title for another year.

However,

Franklin, Honeyball and Angelou kept battling for points and fought for each and every medal. With Pankhurst in

first place by a narrow margin at the penultimate points update there was all to play for in the final sprint races.

Mr Bernard announced the results to the expectant staff and students, revealing that Honeyball finished in 4th place, Angelou took 3rd place, Pankhurst finished 2nd and Franklin just won 1st place at the end of the day. Franklin students streamed onto the track to celebrate their win, well deserved after a strong day of athletics.

A huge thank you to the PE department for another fantastic sports day.

5

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

Position

House

Points

1st

Franklin

2000

2nd

Pankhurst

1500

3rd

Angelou

1000

4th

Honeyball

500

Photography by Safiyah (8 Jobs), Noah (7 Baker) and Charles (7 Fitzgerald)

6

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

Wow. What a show!

The incredible lights, sounds, staging and of course the West-end quality acting was simply jaw-dropping as KAA presented its second ever production - Bugsy Malone.

On Tuesday 12th July the cast performed a matinee for pupils from local primary schools - the Year 5 and 6 students really loved the show, and their teachers thought it was ‘extraordinary’.

The evening shows took place on Wednesday 13 th and Thursday 14th July. The audience included friends, family, staff, governors and members of the local community, and there was a fantastic atmosphere on both evenings. Thank you to everyone that came to see the show and support our actors!

The

show-stopping performances

were

led

by

Charlie (8

Oliver) as Bugsy Malone and Johara (8 Dyson) as Blousey Brown.

The lead cast also dazzled, with outstanding performances from Fatima (8 Berners-Lee) as Fat Sam, Jodie (8 Oliver) as Knuckles, Hisham (8 Balon) as Fizzy, Musa (7 Lennon) as Dandy Dan and Cristina (7 Fitzgerald) as Tallulah. Pau also deserves special mention for his faultless performance whilst delivering a microphone to Johara on stage, in character and in the nick of time, before her solo when her radio mic failed on the final night. Mr Kavanagh was blown away by his professionalism and quick thinking!

The iconic Bugsy Malone splurge guns proved to be popular with both staff and students, Ms Jordan took particular delight in spraying Mr. Kavanagh! The cast also enjoyed a huge splurge gun fight after the final show, during which Mr Kavanagh became a target for a second time!

Congratulations to the cast for putting on such a professional show.

A huge thank you Mr Kavanagh and Mr Fisher for their time and commitment to the production. Thanks must also go to Miss Demeester and Mr Akhlaque for choreography and direction, to the Leadership team for their support, to Miss Connett for her tremendous fundraising efforts, and for the incredible 1920s car, to Mr Daley and Mr Shepherd for building the set and the car, to Ms Di Mascio, Ms Masroh, Ms Rieder and Ms Boujettif for their ongoing assistance, and finally to Lucy Peach and Rozie Beaumont for the brilliant stage make up.

Here’s to next year’s production, which we can’t reveal just yet but

7

consider yourself lucky that it is going to be a big one!

PEFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

8

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

Street DANCE team On Thursday 5th May the Street Dance Team performed at the Westminster Spring Sharing dance event. The event was hosted by the Royal Academy of Dance as part of their Step into Dance programme. KAA have been part of this programme since our opening and our partnership with RAD continues to benefit many of our students.

The event is an opportunity for schools to showcase their talent and the standard on the evening was incredible. The Mayor of Westminster was in attendance, alongside a full capacity crowd. The KAA team put on an excellent performance

and

showed

creativity

and

resilience

throughout. The PE team were very proud of their courage and determination to put on a great show.

Art Assessment Work

Some examples of the work created during the End of Year assessments on colour and perspective.

Bugsy Malone cast trip On Tuesday 14th June, a month before KAA’s production, Mr Kavanagh and Mr Fisher took the entire cast of the school

production to see Bugsy Malone at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. Students had a wonderful evening and were left feeling inspired for their own performances (see pages 7 & 8).

9

first

Art

and

DT

exhibition.

The

exhibition included work by students, staff and local artists. Many thanks to all those who contributed work to this fantastic exhibition. We hope that all those who attended enjoyed the event as much as we did.

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

On Monday 13th June we hosted our very

10

TRIPS & WORKSHOPS

On Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th April the National Army Museum spent two

days at KAA delivering workshops to all of our Year 8 students. Our pupils learnt about the vital contributions made by soldiers from the British Empire who fought in the British Army during the First World War. Students heard stories about the experiences of the soldiers, and were given the opportunity to handle weapons and equipment used in the First World War.

On Thursday 21st and Thursday 28th April students in Year 7 and Year 8 went on an MFL rewards trip to the Natural History Museum.

Students were selected based on their effort and contributions during language classes over the Spring term.

Whilst at the museum students completed a quiz in French or German, taking

them

through

exhibits

on

dinosaurs,

insects,

sea

life

and

mammals. A brilliant day was had by all on both excursions. Well done to the students involved!

11

TRIPS & WORKSHOPS

On Monday 6th June Miss Dench took 12 Year 8 students on a five day Outward Bound trip to Wales. The students

participated in a range of activities, including canoeing,

climbing, and mountain expeditions. The students returned

on Friday 10th June exhausted but buzzing about the experience.

The students were resilient throughout every challenge they faced, none more so than Yahya (8 Kidston) who slept upside

down in his sleeping bag and was buried to his neck in the sand at the beach! Miss Dench awarded Yahya a gold merit for his resilience in the face of these mishaps!

Agnesa (8 Balon) impressed the instructors so much that she

has been offered an Outward Bound scholarship for a 19 day course! Her superb attitude was well deserving of the gold merit for excellence awarded by Miss Dench.

The gold merit for citizenship went to Marwan (8 Balon) for his leadership and support of others during the trip.

Leah (8 Simmons) earned a gold merit for her creativity in fashioning a walking stick out of a branch to aid her on the

mountain expedition - an idea which sparked a trend in the group.

Finally, Tyler (8 Oliver) was awarded an Intrepidus merit for

overcoming his fear of open water to stand in a canoe and paddle 6km.

Every single student showed excellence, resilience and intrepidus during the busy week of activities and Miss Dench was proud to be there with them representing KAA.

12

LITERACY

On Wednesday 5th May 20 lucky Year 8 students attended a Premier League Reading Stars event at Chelsea Football Club. The group included students that completed Premier League Reading Stars in the spring term, and others that have contributed to the academy’s football teams throughout the year.

The first activity was a creative writing workshop with children’s author Justin Somper. Students created characters in pairs and worked on interesting back stories. Our students produced some imaginative work in the short session, with particularly colourful characters created by Michael and Kai. Next on the agenda was the much-anticipated stadium tour, which did not fail to impress. Students visited the press box, changing rooms, and pitch-side dugouts.

The final session of the day was a question and answer session with author Dan Freedman. Yahya - a big fan of Freedman’s Jamie Johnson series - won a signed copy of Shoot to Win for his excellent questions during the session.

After a jam-packed morning students returned to KAA proudly wearing their stadium passes for the remainder of the afternoon.

13

LITERACY

On Friday 10th June 110 KAA students took part in a rich

celebration of literacy and language at a one-day festival organised by the National Literacy Trust.

The Voices festival was part of the National Literacy

Trust’s Literacy for Life programme, which KAA has been taking part in since 2014. Funded by the JJ Charitable

Trust, the programme equips pupils with the academic language they need to succeed in subjects across the

curriculum. It is supported by author and linguist, Professor David Crystal.

Pupils enjoyed a keynote speech from esteemed children’s author Alan Gibbons, and had the opportunity to develop their writing skills in workshops led by writers including spoken word poet Adam Kammerling and Times Book of the Week winner, Christopher Edge.

Focus was placed on supporting pupils to develop skills for professional writing beyond the classroom.

Pupils were inspired to be creative as they were introduced to language techniques used in different formats, including script writing. They also had the chance to explore their own regional voices and heritage through performance poetry, story writing and drama.

To

commemorate

the

400th

anniversary

since

Shakespeare’s death this year, Voices concluded with an abridged performance of Macbeth by students working with The Globe Theatre.

Students had a fantastic day and were awarded with books, notepads for creative writing, and other prizes in the final assembly of the day. We hope that students continue with the creativity inspired during this fantastic day-long festival.

14

YEAR 7 RESIDENTIAL 15

The Highlights of PGL

By Amie (7 Fitzgerald) On Wednesday 4th May the Year 7s went on a three-day residential trip. This trip taught us many core values, including adventure, friendship and Intrepidus.

At 10 o’clock the coaches arrived, taking us away from our families and friends for three days. When we arrived we were shown our rooms. I shared a room with Saffron, Suely, and Sapphire. Our rooms were very large as they consisted of 3 bunk beds and a shower - we were all pleased!

On Monday we did the zip wire and wacky races activities. My favourite activity was the zip wire as I was allowed two turns on it. My key highlight of the trip was when me and Saffron did the 3G swing together, this showed us the core values of friendship and being Intrepidus. On Tuesday we did Aero Ball, Abseiling and Map Skills. My favourite of these was Aero Ball because Mr Kavanagh joined in on the fun.

After the Year 7 students came back from PGL everyone undoubtedly learnt some extremely important life skills to take with them for the future. Living in a room with your friends meant we had to rely on ourselves to do even the simplest things. Responsibility was a key skill in this extraordinary trip. As well as responsibility, courage was another skill we learnt. During our time in Liddington, many events we took part in were at first extremely intimidating, especially for those who are scared of heights like me. This was a first time trying activities such as the zipwire, abseiling and the giant swing. However, all of us had the courage to try them and we soon realised they weren't as intimidating as we first thought. The last skill we developed during our time at PGL was confidence. We all had the ability to put ourselves out there and try new and exciting things. Overall, our PGL trip was a huge privilege and we are all so thankful for all the teachers who helped us out.

YEAR 7 RESIDENTIAL

What did we learn at PGL?

By Mierna (7 Kahlo)

London residential Students not on the PGL residential were still able to enjoy three activity filled days here in London. A group of 40 students visited The British Museum, London Transport Museum and Kensington Gardens, as well as attending workshops at KAA. The activities were part of a collaborative project answering the question ‘What does it mean to be a citizen of London in 2015?’ At the end of the 3 days students put together some fantastic presentations, sharing all that they had experienced and learnt with the rest of the group.

16

SPORTS

On Friday 22nd April the KAA PE department hosted a West London Schools swimming gala at Kensington Leisure Centre. Over 60 year 7 and 8 swimmers represented KAA, Burlington Danes Academy, St Thomas More, Fulham Boys School and Sion Manning, competing in a variety of individual and team races.

There was an electric atmosphere inside the pool competition area as a large crowd gathered to watch the

action. KAA, as expected, were well supported by students, teachers and parents. None of the spectators left disappointed as they were treated to an hour of competitive swimming action, with each school aiming to top the points table. Points were awarded for first, second and third place and those who placed also received a medal for their efforts.

The

KAA

team

have

been

training

consistently

throughout the enrichment programme and their hard work

paid off. The KAA girls proved particularly strong as they took medals in every race available, including; 25m freestyle, 25m breaststroke, 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke and both medley events!

All of the competitors had an excellent time showcasing their skills and were very grateful for the opportunity to compete in an activity not often at the forefront of competitive school sport. We look forward to hosting another swimming gala

later on in the summer term, in the meantime our team will be training hard in preparation. We would like to thank everyone who came to support the team and also the PE staff from the respective schools who attended the event.

17

SPORTS

Championship finals

After a successful season in the QPR schools league, both the Year 7 and Year 8 boys football teams earned a place in the Championship finals this term.

The Year 7s played Fulham Boys at Loftus Road on Sunday

15th May. They anticipated a tough game against Fulham Boys, but were hopeful given their victory over the same team during their previous fixture. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, with family, friends and teachers from both

The Year 8 Boys Football team at Hanwell Football Club

We will be back next season with even more motivation to schools roaring their support from the warm-up through to lift the cup. The PE department and the players would like to the final whistle. At half-time the game was tied at 0-0 and extend our thanks for all of the support in the final and everything was still to play for. Unfortunately, Fulham Boys were able to step up their play in the latter stages of the throughout the season.

- Mr Bernard second half and managed to score 3 goals to secure the cup.

The Year 8s played Burlington Danes Academy at Hanwell Football Club on Sunday 8th May. The team played to a crowd packed with supporters, and after a bright opening 10 minutes

KAA took the lead with an early strike in the box from Abdelkrim (8 Berners-Lee). However, the relentless tempo of the game took its toll and unfortunately Burlington Danes scored took they lead in the second half and were crowned The Year 7 Boys Football team with Mr Bernard QPR

champions.

On Friday 10th July a selection of students attended the England cricket international against Sri Lanka at the world famous Lord’s

cricket ground. The tickets were kindly provided by Sir Rod Aldridge and gave the students an amazing experience of world class cricket action.

Being seated in the Upper Grand Stand the group enjoyed high quality views and great customer service. During the interval, our students

participated

in the

fun

and

challenging

cricket

competitions provided. This enabled KAA students to perform bowling and batting techniques that they have already established

in PE lessons.

We would like to thank Sir Rod for this opportunity, the KAA students stated ‘we loved every moment, we are so privileged!’

18

On Monday 20th and Monday 27th June we welcomed our new Year 7s to a taster day to give them a feel of life at KAA. Students enjoyed taster lessons in languages, art, design technology, physical education and music, as well as experiencing their first ever family dining. The new year group were fantastic and we can’t wait to welcome them in September!

On Thursday 7th July 112 new sixth formers joined us for an academic induction day. This was a historic moment in KAA’s history as are teachers delivered our first ever sixth form lessons. The day was a great success and we look forward to seeing our new students on Enrolment Day on Thursday 25th August!

19

Language lessons

Design Technology lessons

INDUCTION DAYS

Art lessons

Pe lessons

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

After a series of Creates workshops throughout the

term, all students competed in our third whole-school Creates Day on Monday 18th July. Students were asked to design and create a fair trade product, as well as branding, a slogan, an advertisement and a website.

We were joined by volunteers from Goldman Sachs to assist the students in making responsible decisions about

product pricing and profit. The morning sessions were spent learning about Fair Trade products, after which the students began to create their designs.

The range of products produced was brilliant - from brownies to tote bags and all created from Fair Trade ingredients or components!

Once the products were complete students displayed

their work outside their House bases in mega mood

boards, showing off their products alongside website and

advertisement designs as well as information about their product’s Fair Trade status.

Mr Benson and the team from Goldman Sachs toured the building and listened to pitches from each group before making the final decision.

The whole school then gathered in the theatre for Mr Benson to announce the winners - Fruity Fiesta from Pankhurst House won for their fantastic creativity and brilliant presentation.

Congratulations to the winning team, and well done to everyone

for

their

commitment

and

enthusiasm

throughout the day.

Special thanks to Ms Davies and all the other staff that contributed to the lessons for such a spectacular Creates Day. Thanks also to the volunteers from Goldman Sachs for their time and expertise!

20

KAA Autumn Term Parent Calendar Thursday 1st - Friday 2nd September

Y7 & Y12 Induction Days (school closed to Y8 & Y9)

Monday 5th September

Y8 & Y9 Induction Day (school closed to Y7 & Y12)

th

Tuesday 6 September

Autumn 1 Term starts (all students return to school)

Thursday 22nd September

Y7 Welcome to KAA Parents Evening 6.30pm - 8pm

Monday 26th - Friday 30th September

Autumn 1 Revision Week English/Maths/Science

Monday 26th September

Y6 Open Morning 9am - 11am

Tuesday 27th September

Y6 Open Morning 9am - 11am

Tuesday 27nd September

Y12 Welcome to KAA Parents Evening 6.30pm - 8pm

Thursday 29th September

Y6 Open Evening 5pm - 8pm

Monday 3rd - Friday 7th October

Autumn 1 Assessment Week English/Maths/Science

Thursday 6th October

Sixth Form Open Evening 6.30pm - 8pm

Monday 10th - Friday 14th October

Autumn 1 Review Week English/Maths/Science

Wednesday 12th October

House Art & Design Competition

th

Friday 14 October

Autumn 1 Awards Assembly 2pm - 3pm

Monday 17th - Friday 28th October

Half Term Holiday (school closed to students)

Monday 31st October

Autumn 2 Term starts (all students return to school)

Thursday 3rd November

Y9 Progress Meeting 4.30pm - 7pm

Thursday 10th November

Sixth Form Open Evening 6.30pm - 8pm

Monday 14th - Friday 18th November

Anti-Bullying Week

th

Thursday 17 November

Creates Day

Monday 21st November - Friday 25th November

House Charity Week

rd

Wednesday 23 November

KAA’s Got Talent (student event only)

Monday 28th November - Friday 2nd December

Autumn 2 Revision Week All Subjects

Monday 5th - Thursday 8th December

Autumn 2 Assessment Week All Subjects

Friday 9th December

Staff training day (school closed to students)

Monday 12th - Friday 16th December

Autumn 2 Review Week All Subjects

Tuesday 13th December

Christmas Concert 7pm - 9pm (all welcome)

Tuesday 20th December

End of Term Awards Assembly 11am - 12pm

Wednesday 21st December - Monday 2nd January

School Holiday (school closed to students)

rd

th

Tuesday 3 - Wednesday 4 January

Staff Training Days (school closed to students)

Thursday 5th January

Spring 1 Term starts (all students return to school)