ACADEMY NEWS 13th November 2015 E X P L O R E Horace plays the Last Post QR to view on the web BE YOUR BEST Principal’s Report This is the last week of the Autumn Semester and many of us have been enjoying our “life less ordinary” during this project week. The week’s newsletter is another vibrant mix of everything we have been up to and is packed with stories ranging from dog walking to sporting success. Once again I have been impressed by the way our students have thrown themselves into the week and the final results displayed today have been amazing. This week has also seen us remember everyone who has fought on our behalf to defend the freedoms we all take for granted every day. Our annual Armistice Day ceremony has always been very important at Mounts Bay Academy and every student and staff member, joined this year by war veterans Jack Tarr and Mack Holding and Steve Francis, Secretary of the Ludgvan Royal British Legion, halted their normal daily activity to remember those who lost their lives and gave their service. Year 11 History students who visited the WW1 battlefields and war graves at Ypres earlier in the semester shared their experiences before the two minutes silence. These were very individual, emotional and poignant. Ananda Lee said, “For me, personally, it was quite hard- hitting because I have relatives who were buried there and I was the first person from my family to go and visit. It was quite emotional for me.” Darcy Blewett said, “When I went to see all the war graves at the Somme, the Menin Gate and Thiepval I realised the vast number of people who actually made sacrifices. For me it made such a big impact on my History because now I can relate to what actually happened instead of just reading it out of text books.” Year 10 student, Horace Halling, bravely stepped up this year to play the Last Post and then you could have heard a pin drop during our two minute silence, no mean feat on such an emotionally charged day. He then played the Reveille to end our ceremony. Our Armistice Day Ceremony on 11th November was featured on both BBC Radio Cornwall and BBC Spotlight this year. BBC Radio Cornwall broadcast a news package and we featured on their breakfast show while Spotlight broadcast a film of the ceremony and interviews with staff and students on both their lunchtime and evening news programme. This captured the poignancy of the ceremony and I was extremely proud of every one of you. Next week sees the start of our Winter Semester and, whilst it looks like we will be battling a few more autumn winds before then, I hope you enjoy your weekend. Best wishes Sara Davey Academy Principal BE RESPECTFUL Remembrance Day text On Remembrance Sunday two groups of Mounts Bay students attended remembrance services at both Madron and Ludgvan churches. At Ludgvan Pema Bradley Peer and Josh Boase both did a reading for the congregation. Matthew Lawry, Arielle Firkin, Callum Williams, Ananda Lee, Cerys Poynter, Megan Baumbach, Alice Thacker, Lauren Jenkin and Chris Baumbach attended the service at Madron. At both churches they attended the remembrance service and observed the two minutes silence before attending the church service. The congregation at both churches commented on how lovely it was to see our young people attending. It was also great to see former Mounts Bay student, Kyle Poynter, who is now a member of the Royal Marines. Report by Mr Blackabey and Mr Payne BE INSPIRED Visit to Pengarth Day Centre On 5th November seven Year 11 students went to Pengarth Day Centre for an afternoon. The visit was organised by Jade Tottle so that she and her peers could complete a major component of their controlled assessment. This ensured that they had enough information to finish their case study in Health and Social Care. Students interviewed day centre users about the enrichment that Pengarth provides in their life. Each student had written several questions and interviewed the over 65s asking them about this and the process of referral to Pengarth. The day centre users sat in comfortable chairs and chatted to their friends. Whilst we were there, there was a man playing the piano and they were served scones and cups of tea. All of the users we spoke to were really positive and enthusiastic about their time and experiences there. Report by Tia Mathews and Cameron Heaver BE INSPIRED Rome Trip On Saturday 24th October we left Penzance bright and breezy headed for Bristol airport. The weather was pretty miserable in Penzance and we were all hoping to leave the bad weather behind as we stepped onto the plane bound for Rome. When we arrived in Rome we could immediately feel the difference in temperature. It was dry and approximately 20ºc at 6pm! Our accommodation was a very comfortable apartment which was very central and ideal for walking to all of the main sights, which was lucky as we had a great deal of sightseeing to do over the next three days! The group comprised four students from years 9 and 10 and most study Italian- although this was not a prerequisite for the trip. The idea of visiting Rome was to experience first hand life in an Italian city but also to explore the vast history that Rome has. Ms Bennett has just started teaching Latin in the school and had spent the summer learning more about Roman civilisation so, together with Mr Blackabey, they had a good amount of knowledge to be shared with the students. During our stay we visited so many famous monuments and different viewpoints. We walked a huge amount and visited the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, the Forum, the Ghetto, Piazza Venezia, Piazza del Popolo, Villa Borghese, Vatican City, the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and so much more. Ms Bennett led everybody around the city, pointing out places of interest and taking us to the best food stops- including a Gelateria and a Pizza and Taglio shop. BE INSPIRED Mr Blackabey was a very useful member of staff to have with us as he had prepared a whole pack of information to share with us when we visited the different places around Rome. What is very interesting about Rome is how closely the past exists alongside the present. You can be walking along when suddenly you enter a square and the Pantheon is right in front of you. We also saw the remains of the Theatre of Pompey where Julius Caesar was assassinated which is now a cat sanctuary. The students were put to the test on a regular basis in terms of ordering food and drink and making sense of adverts and road signs. They also got to experience the various modes of transport in Rome- including the underground. Italy is of course known for its fantastic food and pupils tried lots of the specialties; pizza sold by the slice and weight, supplì- a rice and mozzarella snack, gelato and of course pasta dishes. Having walked approximately ten miles each day, we had no problem finding room for such delicious food! At the end of the visit we were all absolutely exhausted but content that we had covered much of what Rome has to offer. Despite not having thrown a coin in the Trevi Fountain (it was being renovated) many of the group are hopeful to return next year. The trip was a great success and we will be looking to run the same trip next October half term. For more information, please see Ms Bennett. Report by Miss Bennett BE CURIOUS Year 7 Stay Healthy Miss Osborne and Mr Bromfield have been very impressed this week by Year 7s commitment and demonstration of first class healthy cooking and dramatics which illustrated strong mindedness and the emotions felt whilst put under pressure by peers. Fantastic effort Year 7!! Year 7 - Healthy Activities Boxercise Trampolining BE ADVENTUROUS Year 7 - Dog Walking The Year 7s have been enjoying the company of the canine kind during Project Week. The idea behind the dog walking activity is to help identify some of the positive influences pets, in particular dogs, can have on us. Evidence suggests there can be significant health benefits, both physical and mental, where there is the opportunity to socialise with dogs. The Year 7s had the opportunity to question a dog psychologist, brush, walk, play with and handle the dogs. Much fun was had by all involved, the dogs especially, and the Year 7s were an absolute pleasure to work with. A huge thank you to Bruno, Izzy and Cookie (the dogs) and also Miss McKenzie and Mrs Cyster for supporting with the activity. Report by Mrs Trevail BE CURIOUS Year 9 Project Week - Human Rights To start the week all Year 9 students went to the Savoy cinema for a private screening of the film Suffragette. Despite knowing the history of the suffragette movement, we were still shocked by the graphic depictions of police brutality, the scenes of force feeding in prison and Emily Davison’s death under the King’s horse. “We have being studying human rights. The first day we went to the cinema and watched ‘Suffragette’, this is about women's right to vote. It was a very strong movie because the things the women chose to do to get rights was incredible. - Pierre Dormeuil Back in the classroom we discussed our reactions to the film, which prompted many questions from students on the issue of global universal suffrage and issues of inequality faced by women in the world today.