Aston Manor Academy Spring News 2023 by Wave Ed

ASTON MANOR ACADEMY

PART OF EQUITAS ACADEMIES TRUST

HEADTEACHER

Ramadan Mubarak to our families celebrating this holy month. This half term has been one of the busiest, yet one of the shortest. Student have been offered a wealth of experiences, residentials both abroad and at home, careers events, trips, and enrichment activities to widen student knowledge. We also hosted fifty students from France, who experienced ‘a day in the life of an English school’. The visit was most memorable, and our students did themselves proud. We are very sad to say goodbye to two members of staff this term. Miss Rujina Begum was an ex-student of Aston Manor Academy and worked as a teaching assistant for the past two years. We wish her every success moving forward. Finally, Mrs Sandra Coleman is leaving the school after 44 years of dedicated service. I have never known a member of staff care about children as much as Mrs Coleman. She has worked tirelessly with our students and their families to help support them. I know many staff here are very grateful to have worked with Sandra over the years. I am sure you will join me in wishing her a wonderful well-deserved retirement.

CAREERS FAIR

CAREERS AT ASTON UNIVERSITY

Keith Bradshaw Introduction to Healthcare

20 students in Year 10 have taken part in the Keith Bradshaw Introduction to Healthcare with Aston University Birmingham. After, six mentoring lessons in Maths and Science, and two exams’ Students attended a Graduation Ceremony. Students received a certificate and badge to congratulate them on all their hard work, determination, and achievements.

The aim of the programme was to support students with exams and revision techniques. All the students had an enjoyable day.

This term we had our annual Careers Fair. This provides the opportunity for our pupils from Year 8 up to Year 13 to meet and talk to lots of different future employers, universities, colleges, and training providers. We welcomed many companies including The NHS, KPMG, Sport4life, Nova Training and many Colleges and Universities to meet and talk with pupils about what they can offer. Our visitors were really impressed with our pupils and the questions they asked about future career pathways and academic courses.

FRENCH VISITORS

50 French visitors from the Lycée Romain Rollandin Goussainville school in Paris, France, came to Aston Manor Academy on Wednesday 15th March, 23.

The students are all studying English and visited the school as part of a weeklong trip to the UK. Students worked together, talking in both languages about their experiences of school both in the UK and France. It was a truly enriching experience for everyone involved, especially the Y11s who hosted the visit, and we all got so much out of it. We are so proud of how well our own students represented the school and hope to return the visit soon.

POST-16 - UCAS

We are delighted that 84% of Year 13 have applied for university and have a real ambition for their time after 6th form.

Already, over half of these students have received an offer which is fantastic news! We have some real stand out students with Sakib receiving an offer for Banking, Money and Finance thanks to his participation on the Social Mobility Foundation scheme. Additionally, Zoha is another highlight

as she has an offer from Warwick University for Sociology. Finally, we have our first offer for a student to become a doctor and study medicine at Plymouth – well done Nazir! It is good to see that two students have already had offers for apprenticeships post university, also. Well done all!

2023

STEPS TO SUCCESS

This is a program that 10 Years 7s will start. Over 3 years they will learn how to work as a team, how to problem solve, learn all different types of sports, learn how to be social, and at the end of each year the students will hold a competition with primary schools that the Year 7s will run and deliver on their own.

The Basketball Academy have been training hard over the past year, both during term times and in the school holidays. Both first and second teams have played a number of fixtures against schools from across the country. We have not enjoyed the same success as last year, with both teams fighting hard to retain their places in their respective leagues for the 2023/24 season. The first team, in the final game of the season, managed to beat one of the play-off favourites on the road in order to maintain their place in the top college league in the North of England. The second team sit mid table with four games left to play after beating two of the teams that inflicted defeats on us in the first half of the season. A huge well done to both teams for their efforts so far.

A very busy and successful half-term for our KS3 basketball teams: Our U13 Basketball team remain undefeated this season, winning the Aston and Birmingham league.

Both Year 7 and Year 8 boys have qualified for the play-offs of the Jnr NBA tournament.

Year 8 girls’ Basketball team are Birmingham and Aston/ Hamstead Partnership.

KS3 girls 3V3 made the Basketball County Finals and finished in 3rd place.

Year 9 girls Basketball are Birmingham and Aston/Hamstead Partnership League Winners. A huge well done to all involved!

FOOTBALL ACADEMY FOOTBALL Y7 Y10

The boys’ football academy went to Cologne, Germany this term for the first long awaited AMA football Academy Tour! 26 students along with Mr Connell, Mr Preston and Mr John had a jam-packed week of football. The lads got to experience a training session, an international fixture, along with two stadium tours of Borussia Dortmund and FC Koln and got to challenge themselves at a 3-team laser tag tournament. The group also got to spend some free time in Cologne, including a visit to the very impressive Cologne Cathedral and the Olympic Sports Museum, where the students could compete to break records in many sporting disciplines. It was a brilliant trip where memories of a lifetime were made.

ATHLETICS

Success across KS3 for our indoor sports hall athletics athletes.

Year 7 boys finished runners up in the Aston School Sport Partnership competition, winning silver. Both Year 7 and Year 8 girls’ teams won the Aston School Sport Partnership event, taking the gold medals and now advance to the county finals.

Best of luck to our two girls’ athletics teams that will compete at the University of Birmingham on the 30th March in the county finals!

Off the back of this, 12 students across Year 7-10 are now receiving specialist training from a Birchfield Harriers coach at AMA on a Thursday. Great athletes in the making!

Year 7

Well done to the boys for finishing 3rd in the indoor 5 a-side Futsal tournament. All 3 games ended 0-0 with some fine goalkeeping and defensive skills on display. The team were unlucky to find all 3 opposition goalkeepers in fine form.

Year 10

The U15 team were unlucky to go out in the semi-finals of the Aston Cup against Arena Academy. At full-time the two sides could not be separated with the score at 2-2. Both times, the AMA boys dug deep to come from behind and take the game to penalties.Arena Academy edged the tense shoot-out 5-4.

A huge well done to our 15 sports’ leaders across Year 9 who led and officiated the KS2 Primary Indoor Athletics County Finals. They were all praised by tournament organisers and staff on their professional conduct throughout the day.

SPORT STUDIES

19 Year 9 Sport Studies students organised and led the Primary Sunshine Festival Event in which over 50 students from 6 different schools participated in. Fantastic leadership on show and an invaluable experience for all!

BASKETBALL

Manchester Cathedral and The People’s History Museum

In February, we took 60 Year 10 students to Manchester on an adventure to discover more about the history of England in support of their English Literature study. The People’s History Museum took us through The Suffragette movement, Worker’s Rights, politics, Socialist Movements and so much more. Students were gripped by the interactive museum - we only wish we had more time!

We then went to Manchester Cathedral where we were lucky enough to be given a talk and tour by one of their guides. We learned about the historical significance of the building, looking at plaques, carvings and the intricacies of the design that was later used to inspire students to write creatively. A great day indeed!

The Globe Theatre in London

Year 8 and 9 students attended The Globe Theatre in London to see The Tempest. The performance was spectacular, exciting and ambitious. Students were able to imagine what the theatre might have been like 450 years ago when these plays were first performed. A little rain didn’t dampen the students’ spirits and it was a fantastic experience.

Year 8 students are still working on their year-long partnership with the BBC focus on spotting Fake News. In the third workshop, students were able to use iPads and microphones to create their own TikTok news stories - we have some budding presenters in the mix! The BBC were so impressed with our students, and we cannot wait to welcome them back later this year.

World Book Day - Thursday 2nd March

An exciting day every year for Aston Manor Academy. Students excitedly guessed which characters teachers were dressed up as. Not only this, students read sections of Roald Dahl’s classic, Lamb to the Slaughter, throughout the day, leaving each lesson on a cliff-hanger wanting to know exactly how the story unfolded. The library book hunt was popular with students searching for book covers, titles and authors to win prizes.

Wings 1st Place Abbas Mannan Aiza: Matte black wings, with a pearlescent finish of molten lava, could be seen from miles away and razor-sharp points were as sharp as the sharpest blade. The creature’s powerful thrashing of it’s wings sent shockwaves through the room and throughout the underworld itself.

Head and Horns Hunzala Hussain Yukai: Two great antlers emerged from the creature’s dull head; each jagged point was as sharp as a blade. Both horns large enough to break an entire mountain; it’s steel like skull strong enough to crush an entire planet into powder. Sprouting from either side o the enormous skull were burning red daggers.

Tail Jeremiah Muhtasin Amal: At the base of the spine sprouted a tail; this was no ordinary tail, it was a long, deep green venomous serpent with toxic lime scales. At the end of the tail was the head of a deadly snake which reached out to take a fatal bite out of any creature that would dare come close enough. From the mouth of the snake daggers sparkled and it’s gleaming yellow eyes glared, seeking the next victim.

Eyes Mariam Taseen Haruun: Deep crimson eyes appeared in the dark of the dull room. The creature’s flaming orbs had a demonic glare that pierced deep into the soul. Like candle light the crimson.

Arms, hands, fingers Eesa Mehedin Natheer: Massive arms hung down by the creature’s sides with every inch of the colossal limbs covered with spikes and bones. It’s hands balled into tight fists ready to strike with muscular biceps. From each knuckle sprouted mallets of spikes as the creature’s powerful fist pulverised the walls of the dark room.

Mouth Tyreese Destiny Zain: From the creature’s mouth came a foul smell and every time the mouth moved the leathery skin wrinkled and cracked. Inside it’s jaws blunt crooked teeth dominated and crackled with decay.

ENGLISH TRIPS

Bletchley Park Trip

As part of Holocaust Awareness

Day our pupils had a fantastic time at Bletchley Park, in Milton Keynes, and they were actively involved in codebreaking workshops. The ciphers and coding created challenge for us all, including the staff, but we were not defeated, showing resilience and determination and showing off in the Aston Manor way!

Harry Potter Trip

Our Year 10 Creative iMedia and Film studies, and Year 8 IT students, visited Warner Bros Harry Potter studio as part of their OCR creative iMedia/ Film Studies course in London on Thursday 26th January, 2023. This trip was linked to the OCR Creative iMedia Level 1/2 course we are delivering at KS4. It was a good opportunity for Year 10 pupils to see how digital graphics are used in the real world of work. The trip helped students develop their ideas for when they complete their coursework and they learnt how IT is used in industry to promote and advertise products. All students thoroughly enjoyed learning outside the classroom.

Year 7 Trip to Symphony Hall

Our Year 7s visited Symphony Hall in February to watch the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra perform their ‘Natural World’ concert for schools. This was a wonderful introduction to the fabulous Symphony Hall and the students were very impressed! The CBSO provided an auditory treat whilst also sharing the complexity and power of the orchestral sound. ‘The Avengers’ was our favourite piece of the afternoon.

YEAR 7 IT LESSONS

Year 7 students are enjoying lessons learning about what’s inside a computer and how to connect PCs, with our IT technicians.

There is so much going on in the English department at the moment and we are so proud that we have been able to showcase the excellence of students at Aston Manor.

FRIENDS

In the Inclusion Department we have successfully run 2 Friends Cohorts. Friends Intervention is all about learning friendship and social skills, talking about feelings and anxiety and learning to build resilience. It is all about developing team-work skills and confidence boosting. The students worked exceptionally well and were very creative. This term students have been making friendship bracelets and designing and labelling an ‘out of control feelings volcano’. We had some reflective discussions about feelings and made motivational power cards. If you would like to take part in these exciting sessions, please see Mrs Bibi in D4a.

MOTHER’S DAY

KS3 Pupils have been using their arts and crafts skills at lunchtime in the library to make these lovely Mother’s Day cards to celebrate their moms. Lots of love and hard work went into making them.

KNITTING CLUB

Knitting Club Plea!

The library knitting and crochet club, with Mrs Clifton and Mrs Hughes, are doing a special appeal to any parents or grandparents who can knit or crochet.

Pupils are working hard at lunchtimes to produce knitted or crochet squares to make a lovely warm blanket to donate to charity. If you can help, please knit or crochet a square approximately 18cm x18cm. Any colour or pattern is fine and please just send them into the Library. We are very excited to complete this project to help others in need!

SUMMARY OF CHILD PROTECTION FOR VISITORS AND VOLUNTEERS

Aston Manor Academy is committed to the highest standards in protecting and safeguarding the children entrusted to our care.

If you have a concern that a child is being harmed, is at risk of harm, or you receive a disclosure (intentionally or unintentionally), you must contact one of the following staff members as quickly as possible.

SANDRA COLEMAN

Designated Safeguarding Lead

EMMA SMITH

Designated Senior Safeguarding Person

scoleman@astonmanoracademy.com esmith@astonmanoracademy.com