www.archwayschool.net

Archway News Issue No 25

March 2017

March 2017

Dear Parents / Carers

This term has seen students participating in a range of curricular and extra-curricular activities to support and enhance their learning. Students in Years 11, 12 and 13 are preparing in earnest for the forthcoming examination season. We are pleased to have been able make the following charity donations: Cats Protection £237.11, Mind £237.12, Bristol Children’s Hospital £342.79, and two donations to Cancer Research of £342.79 and £51.85, thanks to the work and generosity of students.

As this term draws to a close we say goodbye and thank you to Miss Martin from the English department. We are grateful for the contribution she has made to the school over 12 years.

We are grateful for your support in ensuring students arrive promptly and in correct uniform each day. If you are unsure about uniform, lists and images are in the students’ planners.

Batemans, who supply many items of uniform, are supporting the school by ensuring that the skirts which are purchased are of an appropriate size and length.

As a school we accept that parents/carers give their children mobile phones to protect them from everyday risks involving personal safety and security. We would be grateful if you would remind students of the acceptable use and potential misuse of such devices and support us in the stance we take as outlined briefly below:

Mobile phones should be switched off and kept out of sight during lessons and while moving between lessons. They should not be used inside any school building during

the school day, nor in any manner or place that is disruptive to the normal routine of

the school. In cases of emergency, the student services team remain a vital and appropriate point of contact and can ensure that your child is reached in a relevant and appropriate way. (01453 763242, Option 2)

Term will end at the normal finish time of 3.15pm on Friday 7 April, and the new term will begin at 8.45am on Monday 24 April. Best wishes for the Easter break.

Yours faithfully

Colin Belford Headteacher

Page 2 Archway News

Bugsy Malone Miss R Auster & Mrs V Rossiter 2017 kick started with the Bugsy Malone cast wowing audiences with their feel-good, fun and energetic production. Students from all year groups performed ‘Bugsy Malone’ to 180 primary school children and three sell out evening performances. Students had been rehearsing since September and each night showcased their hard work, talent, and plenty of splurge! Bugsy Malone, played by Rocky Ruiz-Tan (Y8), is a city slicker who tries to win over would-be-singer Blousey Brown, played by Helena Gardner (Y9). However, things don't go to plan when he gets mixed up with the likes of Fat Sam, Tallulah – played by Kalila Suckley (Y9) - and his gang of hoodlums. Fat Sam, the role shared by Miki Kowalski (Y10) and Jonah Carter (Y9), has an on-going rivalry with Dandy Dan, played by Archie Nurding (Y10). Dandy Dan and his gang have the newest invention of weapons - the Splurge Gun - and end up wiping out Fat Sams entire empire. Friendship eventually wins all and the show ends with the fantastic song, 'You Give a little Love.' Peace at last... The show received rave reviews and left audiences with that feel-good feeling! Students performed their socks off, accompanied by a live band, and represented the school outstandingly. Well done to all involved from those that were on stage, to those backstage, the art students who made the set, lighting extraordinaire Linda Thammer and all the volunteers that came along each night. It truly was a whole-school production and you all made us very proud. The video of the performance, filmed Natasha Law and Cam Jones, is available now via this private school youtube link: https://youtu.be/k-AogNlm9bo Well done again!

Air Pollution Survey Attendance Mr J Hayes Mr D Barry

Science Class 8r3 Thank you to all our students, parents took part in an air and staff for working so hard to ensure attendance figures remain high this year. pollution survey to measure the nitrogen Please continue to encourage your dioxide levels present son/daughter to maintain high attendance levels. Every day lost impacts upon their around the school. This education and progress academically. By was done by counting the aspiring for 100% attendance your child population of various will be able to take advantage of all the lichens around the opportunities open to them, and are more school and inputting the likely to obtain higher grades at GCSE results into a national air and A level. quality survey. Students It is also very important that your child found that small is in school on time in the morning. Please ensure they arrive in school by quantities of this gas 8.45am. Setting good attendance were present. patterns and punctuality are very Lucas Brachi took important in supporting your child’s some wonderful photos education and are skills they will need of the different lichens when they enter the place of work. found. Thank you for your continued support. Page 3

Year 10 and 11 Trip to Bristol with Enterprise Governors’ News Rent a Car Mrs C Jowett Miss A Delrosa, Chair of Governors

Miss Lee and Mrs Jowett took a group of eight Year 10 and We’re very pleased to welcome our 11 girls to meet with their business mentors from Enterprise newest parent governor, Barnes Rent a Car as part of the Bridge Builders programme. The girls Clutterbuck. You can find out more about have been meeting with their mentors on a regular basis for governors, who we are and what we do by nearly 12 months and their mentors invited them to have a visiting the parents section of the school morning session on work skills followed by a team building website www.archwayschool.net and activity in the afternoon. clicking on Governors. The morning session consisted of CV writing, image and If you’re not aware, the governing body brand, communication styles and interview training. This was is made up from several groups of people: followed by a lunch with their mentors and then onto an staff, Local Authority appointed governors, afternoon of bowling. The girls were split up into three co-opted governors who represent the community, and parents. The governing different teams with their mentors and competed against each body has a vital role to play in making sure other to show off their bowling talents. Lola Tidy (Y11) turned every child receives the best possible out to be a demon bowler! It was a fantastic day; the girls education. This is achieved by ensuring learned new skills and got to know their mentors even better. that governors have the necessary skills and commitment to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. At the moment, governors are making sure that the school is prepared for its next Ofsted visit. We are also in the process of conducting surveys with students and staff. Thank you to all parents who completed our questionnaires at the recent round of parents’ evenings. If you have any comments that you would like to share with the governing body then please email me at: [email protected].

Visit from an Actor Mrs C Tolman

Some students in Year 8 have been studying The Tempest and we were fortunate to be able to invite Graham Bill, a former teacher turned professional actor, to our class to talk about his experience of playing Caliban. He provided us with an insight into a complex character and told us about his preparation for the role which included a painstaking hour applying full body paint! Graham talked about the demands of playing a figure who is both monstrous and one who asks for our sympathy. Students asked many searching questions and came to the conclusion that Caliban is not a monster, just misunderstood! It was fascinating to hear about Graham's experiences of both playing this character and his wider film and TV roles and I would like to thank him very much for coming in and sharing his stories with us. Page 4 Archway News

Library News Dr E Hampshire & Mrs S Walton Year 8 Sport Mr L Chapman World Book Day Many congratulations to our year 8 sports On Thursday 2nd March it was World Book Day, and all week in the teams, who are the only year group where Library we celebrated with our Book Quiz, our Book Character display both the boys and the girls teams have (see below), and with a game of ‘Book Bingo’ (a game based on Dewey qualified for the district semi-finals in their numbers and authors, rather than ordinary numbers!). On World Book Day respective sports. itself we welcomed the author Helen Maslin to the library, where she was Year 8 Hockey interviewed by a panel of Library Helpers, Helen March (Y10), Ellen Our girls have had a fantastic year having Barton (Y8) and Ben Crowther (Y11), and talked about her gothic-style not lost a single game. They are on their book Darkmere. Will Lomas (Y12) took photographs of the talk. Well done way to becoming district champions in to all of them for contributing to such an enjoyable and interesting event, netball, and have done the same in the and a big thank you to Helen Maslin for visiting us at Archway Library! hockey, beating all of the local teams to reach the district semi-final taking place on Monday 27th March.

Year 8 Football Having lost in the semi-finals of the district rugby earlier in the school year, the boys find themselves up against Farmor’s again, but this time in football. The lads won their league with a game to spare beating both district finalists from the previous year. Special mention goes to captain Ciaran Shelbourn and the midfield dynamo Levi Francis (pictured) who has since been signed by Swindon Town.

Bookmark Competition In February, the library organised a competition for students to design a bookmark, to be printed and made available in the library, and designs had to represent a particular book. We had some lovely entries, and four bookmarks were chosen as the joint winners. Congratulations to Year 7 students Shannon Griffin and Finn Price, and By the time the newsletter goes out we will Year 8 students Thomas know how both of the teams have done. Semokonyane and Megan Congratulations go out to both teams, as Spiers – their winning regardless of the outcomes, they have done amazingly well already which is bookmarks are shown testament to the hard work and effort put opposite. in by all. Issue No 25 Page 5

Year 9 Residential Trip to Krakow and Auschwitz Ms J Coleman

On 27th February, 26 Year 9 students, Ms Coleman, Mr Russell and Mr Salmon left school at 3am for a flight from Bristol airport to Krakow. In glorious sunshine we had a walking tour of Kazimierz where we saw how Jewish people lived for at least 500 years before World War II. In Kazimierz Square 68 over-sized chairs represent the 68,000 residents who were deported to camps during World War II. Today Jewish culture is being revived with art galleries, cafés, music and synagogues as well as part of the ancient city wall and small courtyards that were used in the film Schindler's List. Leaving Kazimierz we walked over the Lover's Bridge lined with padlocks where couples inscribe their names then throw the key into the Wistula River. Back to the main market square and the Cloth Hall gave students some free time for sightseeing and food. Tuesday saw us at a compelling visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau where approximately 1.5 million people were systematically put to death. An opportunity to see the photographs and remnants of everyday life of those who were exterminated was a moving and a sombre experience for us all. In the afternoon we visited Wawel Castle and the beautiful Medieval Square which are perched on top of the hill overlooking Krakow. Tired feet and a desire for more food called us back to the main square and a chance to buy souvenirs or take a carriage ride around the square. Three days flew past and before we knew it Krakow airport beckoned and we were back at school again.

Big Bang Fair 2017 Dr R Cadenhead

62 Year 8 and Year 9 students visited the Birmingham NEC for the 2017 Big Bang Fair for young scientists and engineers on Wednesday 15th March as part of the British Science Week. They threw themselves willingly into a whole host of activities including interacting with robots, cars, flying machines, assembling structures, trying out virtual reality viewers and infrared glasses, 3D printing, interacting with mock body hackers and the forensic detective project and e-bug, holding large insects and watching owls and ferrets. A huge range of drop-in shows, explosions and talks were easily accessible, including Marty Jopson, the BBC One Show's resident scientist demonstrating dangerous physics equations in action and Bronze medal Gymnast in the 2012 Olympics, Beth Tweddle, was also interviewed about her love of science at school. Microscopes, computers, busy machines, space subatomic particles, engineering breakthroughs, mechano and lego, medical and engineering applications were all in abundance. A great time exploring horizons in science was had by all! Page 6 Archway News

National Careers Week Mrs V Martin

National Careers Week (6th -10th March) is all about celebrating careers by helping students to understand the links between the courses they are taking, the skills they have and different post-16 and post-18 pathways open to them. National Careers Week at Archway started with Y7s 'Building a Town'. Students were encouraged to think about the different services and occupations that make up a town. The Y8s then took part in the 'Real Game' which centres around work / life balance. It came as quite a shock to some of them that their chosen career might not enable them to live the lifestyle they wanted to become accustomed to! They then started to explore the relationship between qualifications and different career pathways. The emphasis changed for Y12s whose focus was on interview skills. Mrs Rossiter, Head of Drama, devised and presented a new hands-on workshop for the 6th Form. Literally hands on ... as their first exercise was to practise a perfect handshake - limp, clammy handshakes are no more. We also had two excellent speakers in who gave Lunch in the Library talks to Y7-Y11 on Careers in Sport and the Nuclear Industry, together with masterclasses to the 6th Form. The week ended with a first for Archway — a Dragons’ Den type event run by GCHQ. Y9s were divided into two groups. Half of them took part in stage one of a Young Enterprise (inter-school) competition, while the other half learnt how their personality might affect their career choice. The winners of the Young Enterprise competition (Tom Wickham-Bassett, Louis Wilkins, Oscar Wilson, Jacob Wood and Jack Woods) will go on to compete in the final which takes place in May at GCHQ. Covering 10 events, involving over 800 students, National Careers Week at Archway was all about raising the profile of different career pathways, but it is not just about one week — please look at the Archway website for Careers events that happen at Archway throughout the year.

Students raise money for RSPCA Mr D Barry Year 10 students Charlotte Bateman, David Jones, Jamie Pollard and Luke Windle have successfully completed their enterprise unit for their ASDAN qualification. To complete this activity the students had to form a company to raise money for a charity of their choice. Over the course of the autumn term the students learned about the different aspects of a company and then formed their own company to resource, produce and sell Christmas cards. The students were so successful that they were able to present a cheque for over £90 to the Stroud & Cotswolds Cats and Dogs Home. Well done to all! Page 7

Archway Softball Academy Mr L Chapman

We are excited and privileged to announce the inception of the Archway Softball Academy. After the Easter holidays students from all age groups, male and female, are invited to join and train with the academy on a Tuesday after school from 3.15 to 5pm each week. Over the past three years we have become better and better at softball culminating last yeast in winning every title in the county and retaining the U18 title again in October 2016. As a result we are the only school to have been invited to play in the national league in Bristol from this spring onwards. The aim of our academy is three fold:  To get as many people playing the game to a good standard ahead of inter-tutor softball in the summer term  To enter a number of strong teams into the School Games at district level that will hopefully progress to the county tournament as we did last year  To develop an elite playing squad who are capable of mounting a challenge against some of the top teams in the south west region and develop players that are capable of joining it over the coming years We are incredibly fortunate to be able to announce that the academy lead is going to be Mark Saunders, one of the most knowledgeable men in English softball, having played for, captained and managed the Team GB softball team. Students wishing to get involved need to be in PE kit on a Tuesday after school and willing to learn. There will be skills development as well as match play, alongside some regular Tuesday after school fixtures that will be against different year groups and other schools, with the plan to hold tournaments for each year group at Archway. Softball is the most accessible sport that we play at Archway which means that students can play regardless of previous experience, age and gender and allows us to complete against some of the top players in the Country.

Forensic Day, Thursday 16th March, part of British Science Week Dr R Cadenhead

Year 7 students had the great opportunity to visit the Explorer Dome for a trip across the universe, as well as solving crimes using scientific forensic techniques in Science, using questioning at the crime scene in Modern Foreign Languages and role play and interview evidence in Drama. In Art students were looking at creating movement in their drawing and in Music the use of music in crime was explored. Maths were investigating solving intricate puzzles requiring a spatial awareness, logic and skilful questioning. Finally, in English, reporters and photographers were sent out from their headquarters in T6 to interview students and report on various sessions taking place producing a news magazine. Year 9 students assisted brilliantly in the Science programme, demonstrating techniques and enabling the year 7 students to complete their investigations. Well done everybody! Page 8 www.archwayschool.net

Another Fantastic Season Of Hockey! A Marketing Masterclass for Year 12 Business Miss L Garner BTEC Students Mrs E Fowler

We have enjoyed another great season of hockey at The Year 12 Business BTEC students were able to Archway School. There has been an excellent turn out to benefit from a marketing masterclass that was co- practices and fixtures with all teams filled—one team from ordinated by Tanya Lewis, an independent marketing Year 7, two teams from Year 8, an U14s team comprising consultant. We would like to thank Tanya for sharing Years 8 and 9 combined, and an U16s team comprising Years her professional knowledge as it provided a perfect 9 and 10 combined. Year 7 saw a dedicated number of girls turning up to every platform to launch the new unit in marketing. practice, some of whom had never played hockey before. Due After discussing the importance of creating a brand to their hard work and commitment they improved their skills with a personality that appeals to the identified target week in week out. Let’s hope next year we will get some market, the students were given a task that focused on more Year 7s to help strengthen the team. They had a few Archway Sixth Form and its brand values. They were games with wins and losses, which were fully enjoyed by all asked to create a statement that encapsulated the involved. essence of Archway Sixth Form; it was enlightening to Year 8s had the best attendance, with over 20 students read their suggestions, which included:- regularly attending training, allowing us to put out two teams. Both teams were able to go to the qualifying rounds of the “Archway Sixth Form is a sociable, knowledgeable, district tournament, with the A Team only narrowly beating challenging place of informal education” the B Team 1-0 to get to the final. The A Team qualified “Education at its most understanding” through to the district finals - ending the competitive season with not one loss. Good luck for the finals! “Providing a supportive working environment where you The U16 squad were again undefeated in their friendly feel part of the community” matches, with their 3-0 victory over Stroud High School being “Building foundations to support your achievement” the highlight of the season. There were some very strong “High standard of education and experiences to create players this season who also play for their local team, Stroud a well-rounded individual with a brighter future” Hockey Club, which really helped our overall team “Quality education in a supportive environment” performance. The district tournament saw the girls put in an exceptional performance against strong Year 11 teams from It was a really thought provoking session that will Wycliffe College, Stroud High School & Katharine Lady be of great benefit to the students when they take rd Berkeley’s School, with two draws and one loss, finishing 3 their marketing exam this summer. overall in their district tournament. It was a great experience in preparation for next season. Finally, we must give a massive thank you to Archway for allowing us to hire Stratford Park astro weekly. This enabled Year 9 Brilliant Club Mrs C Jowett us to really improve our level of hockey to be able to compete 12 Year 9 students took part in the Brilliant Club programme against the other schools. Well done to all the girls who have where they worked with a PhD student, taking part in weekly got involved in hockey! tutorials, and then writing a 1500 word essay which was marked to degree standard. Mrs Ryall and Mrs Jowett travelled with them to the University of Cardiff where they ‘graduated’ from the Scholars Programme with the Brilliant Club. They were presented with their certificates by Annika Rowbury Harrison, the Programme Officer of the Brilliant Club in the south west region. They also had a tour of the university by some current university students and got a real taste of what life at university would be like. The students enjoyed their day and looked very proud with their certificates.