Dates for the diary

Monday 2nd September Start of term – Years 7 & 12

Tuesday 3rd September Start of term – All years

th Tuesday 17 September Dear Parents/Carers their university applications and seen thousands of children pass through her Science lab and they un- Year 11 Geography field The close of the academic year is always a time when doubtedly leave with an enhanced enjoyment of trip I reflect on the successes of the past 12 Science. We wish her the very best in her retire- months. Longfield has had a great year ment. th where students have thrived, staff have flourished Thursday 19 September and as a community we have grown. We have held Longfield Academy has celebrated many successes Year 11 Geography field Trust events, including most recently the Year 10 this year and we hope that this will be concluded trip careers conference and the LGBT+ network group with some great GCSE and A-Level results in Au- but maintained high quality learning. We have em- gust. It is always the highlight of my year to see the barked on the Middle Years Programme with year 7 faces of our students light up at seeing the fruits of th rd Friday 20 – Monday 23 which is already seeing our students develop skills their labour and gaining the grades that they have September and attributes that we are very proud of and starting worked so hard for. Equally, seeing members of to pervade every aspect of our Academy life. staff celebrate with the students for whom they Year 11 PGL trip have supported, challenged, and nurtured, quite I am extremely pleased that we are fully staffed for often over a period of years. th September, which in a time of uncertainty in the wid- Monday 30 September er world, this is quite some achievement! We are Our Post 16 provision is being widely recognised st & Tuesday 1 October particularly pleased to welcome Mr Williams back to for the Outstanding grading by Ofsted, and conse- HPV vaccinations Longfield Academy as our new SENCO - having quently we have seen record numbers of applicants completed his early training and career with us, he has for our courses. Our current Year 11 students will worked locally at Trinity School but will return in always have priority (subject to entry requirements) th Friday 4 October September to lead on Special Educational Needs. but we also look forward to welcoming new stu- Year 7 Eynsford trip It does however also mean that we say goodbye to dents from other local schools. some staff, and one member of staff of note that I I hope you enjoy reading the newsletter and it is at think many of you may wish to pass thanks to is Mrs th th this point that I would like to thank all of the staff Friday 11 – Sunday 13 Maria Willis. Having joined us in 1989, Mrs Willis at Longfield Academy for their hard work, dedica- has held many positions of responsibility, not least October tion and support to the young people in our the Head of 6th Form for many years, and through Netball trip care. They are a truly magnificent group of profes- this role, laying the foundations for our Ofsted rated sionals that are always prepared to go the extra mile Outstanding Post 16. to support a child. Friday 18th October Given her length of service, I suspect that not only I trust you will have an excellent summer and I look End of term are there current students who have benefited from forward to welcoming the students back in Septem- her teaching, but also some parents may also have ber - with immaculate uniform, fully prepared for once been in her class as a student too! learning, a positive mental attitude and on time! She has worked closely with students to support Mrs A O’Donnell

Holiday Reminder Attendance

Longfield Academy wants students to be successful and Congratulations to the following students for gaining this success is heavily linked with high rates of attendance 100% attendance for the whole school year : throughout a student’s time at school. To reinforce this point, the Academy wishes to inform parents and carers Anderson Galileo of the regulations around holidays being taken during Bradley Lee Maddison Chapman term time. During the Academic year the Academy is John Durling Callum Hall-Rogers closed for 14 weeks when you can take holidays and Kye Oakley travel. The Department for Education (DfE) states that Jamie Dupuy Lucie Hemsley with effect from 1 September 2013 that Head Teachers Josh Rayfield Andrew Wyld MAY NOT grant any holidays or other absences during Frankie Bussey Noah Noordally term time unless they are exceptional circumstances. Amber Baldock Elise Davenport Eevy Parker Sarah Mills Some examples of exceptional circumstances are below: Josie McGuire Maya Sengupta Joseph O'Brien  A close bereavement in the family (Parent, Kit Watson Lani Fielder-Dyer Grandparent, Sibling, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin) Shania Durling Jimmy Hossack Tommy Bailey  Attending a funeral Maria Nandra Sean Behr  Religious observance Emma Walter  An organised activity the academy agrees in Anu Sebastian Matisse advance Nicholas Greenfield Please note, an exceptional circumstance does not Zachary Jones include family weddings or such events. Lillian Lee The Academy is required by law to comply with these Aidan Riphagen regulations which affect all absences during term time. Bethany Ling Therefore, should the Academy refuse to grant leave and Patrick Aiby parents/carers take their child out of school without the Thomas Bishop school’s authorisation then the law clearly states this is Adam Hoare illegal. Your child’s absence will then be recorded as Dylan Jones unauthorised and you are at risk of receiving a Fixed Jay Redding Penalty Notice of £60-£120 (if paid within 28 days) per Daisy Glazebrook parent from County Council. Failure to pay the Randney Omuni-Kwenzilike notice may result in you being prosecuted by Kent County Ryan Mackway-Jones Council. Jack Fry Therefore, we are asking you to support the Academy by Fraser Patterson ensuring your child achieves excellent attendance and Matthew Denton you do not apply for holiday leave or remove your child Aiden Down for a holiday throughout the course of the Academic year. Kye Finch Failure to meet this responsibility will leave the Academy Tanaka Chinhoi no alternative but to follow the procedures and law set Thokozani Zulu out by the Department for Education.

Mr J Lever

Behaviour Charter In addition I wanted to bring your attention to the following that we expect from September. The introduction of the mobile ban at Longfield  Students will be expected to bring in their school Academy has been incredibly successful. I would like planner everyday. Failure to do so will result in a 15 to thank you for your support in this and the minute break time detention with their tutor. difference it has made has been quite astounding.  Break/Lunchtime detentions should be for no

longer than 15 minutes but it must be made clear to We are continuously reviewing all of our systems and the student: the time and location of the detention, procedures with the sole purpose of trying to ensure citing the reason for the detention that all students have the opportunity to learn and thrive. We strongly believe that learning in a safe,  Detentions will be recorded in the students conducive environment will enable students to reach planner. their potential. Through discussions with students, staff and the Parents Forum we have devised anew  Students will be given ONE chance to attend Behaviour Charter that will be displayed in all only. classrooms and in key locations around Longfield Academy that highlights two things:  After school detentions will be 40 minutes in length from 3:25 pm to 4:05 pm. On Wednesdays Rewards - Although learning and the subsequent this will be from 2:05 pm to 2:45 pm. Parents will be reward of achieving success is the ultimate reward we informed so that alternative transport arrangements do strongly believe in rewarding students that go can be made. above and beyond. Our Behaviour Charter identifies the additional rewards students can achieve by having  If a student takes it upon themselves to leave a excellent attendance, a positive attitude and approach classroom without permission they will automatically to their learning and making a valued contribution to receive a 40 minute after school detention. the academy and wider community.  Failure to attend an after school detention issued

by a classroom teacher or subsequently the Head of Sanctions - We have high expectations of the Department, will likely result in the student being behaviours we expect from all students but on placed in our Internal Exclusion Room for one day. occasions we have to sanction students where behaviour has fallen short of that high expectation. By We must remind you that “Parental consent is not making the likely sanctions for negative behaviours required for detentions”. This is in line with DFE clear and transparent we aim to empower students to guidance detailed in the “Behaviour and discipline” avoid negative behaviours as such behaviours will document from January 2016. receive an appropriate sanction. This will also act as a reference point for staff at the academy so they can A letter will be sent out to all parents/carers towards the encourage positive behaviour but also consistently end of the summer break reminding you of the apply sanctions where applicable. Behaviour Charter and students will be given further guidance through assemblies and the tutor time I have included in this newsletter a copy of the programme in the first week or two of the new academic Behaviour Charter that will be on display so your child year. We will use those assemblies to issue the new can see both those rewards and sanctions. I strongly student planners and reinforce the expectations of how advise that you spend some time ensuring that your they are to be used. son/daughter is aware of both. Please note: we are Your support in promoting positive behaviours is very conscious that not all negative behaviours fit into one much appreciated to ensure all students at Longfield category and we expect staff to use their professional Academy thrive and succeed. judgement in determining the behaviour and the most appropriate sanction. Mr J Lever

Year 9 Leigh Aspire students Year 12 Mock Interviews

On Thursday 6th June 2019, twenty-four As part of a stable careers Year 9 Leigh Aspire pupils, from five programme, year 12 students at different academies: The Leigh, Longfield Academy took part in mock Longfield, Mascalls, Strood and interviews this week. Following on Stationers’ Crown Woods, had the pleasure of participating in a Leigh from C.V workshops earlier in the year, the entire cohort was Aspire event consisting of a one-and-a- given the opportunity to submit an application and C.V for half-hour confidence building drama either a University place, job or apprenticeship. The sectors and workshop followed by a trip to The Prince Edward Theatre, to roles included: see Aladdin. The purpose of this activity was to support pupils in boosting  University their confidence and enhancing their cultural capital. We  Nursing Apprenticeship started off at the Mousetrap Theatre Project's studio in  Accountancy Shaftesbury Avenue London with Laura Rae, Freelance Drama  Hospitality Apprenticeship Teacher. Throughout the session students did  HR role various improvisational theatre  Administration Apprenticeship activities; including using status, tableau  Engineering Degree Apprenticeship and eye contact. In improvisational  Arts Apprenticeship theatre, "status” refers to the power  Sports coaching difference in the relationship between two characters. A character in a high  I.T Degree Apprenticeship status behaves dominantly towards a character in a lower status. In a tableau, participants make still An enthusiastic group of volunteer business professionals acted images with their bodies to represent a scene. So using these as interviewers for our students and certainly put them two drama concepts, students asked to create a tableau of a through their paces! variety of different scenarios, depicting characters in high and low status. Eye contact also plays an important part in status We are extremely grateful for this support as the outside and when trying to portray yourself as a confident person. This expertise and knowledge of our guests adds not only gravitas exercise involved students walking around the room, using but an added dimension of reality for our students. In one case, different types of eye contact: no eye contact at all, making eye we were fortunate to have an interviewer from the business contact then immediately breaking it and then holding eye contact for as long as possible. Once each group had tried who provided the mock role. Our valued experts came from performing the three different types of eye contact, Laura Telcare Ltd, High Profile, Greenwich University, Spicemasher facilitated a class discussion to determine which type of eye Process Management, A4G Accountants, Shorthouse contact the students preferred and why. Hospitality, MOAT Housing and HR and are all experienced All these techniques can be used to boost confidence, during interviewers. times and in situations when one may not be feeling confident. Students commented on how valuable they had found the At the end of the workshop, students experience summarised their experience with comments such as: "I have learnt how to be more confident Delegate comment included: even when I'm not feeling so..." and "The workshop will help me be more confident in It was really interesting to get a view of the world from the interviews and when meeting new people...". minds of the next generation to enter the workforce.” Bjorn The final element to this event was the matinee Haynes, Spicemasher Process Management showing of the West end musical Aladdin, at The Prince Edward

Theatre, which all the students thoroughly enjoyed! Thank you to our students for stepping up to the mark and to our guests for their invaluable time and expertise.

Certificate of Appreciation

Alex O'Donnell, Principal, and Michaela Head from our Telescope Bistro were pleased to welcome the Mayor and Mayoress of Dartford to receive a Certificate of Appreciation for the support we have given them throughout their term of office. We have hosted the Mayors fundraiser dinner for the last few years and are happy to support our local community. We wish David and Ellen both well in their next steps and life after Mayoral duties!

If you would like to book a table at the Telescope Bistro, Year 12 CV Workshop please contact us for booking availability on 01474 700700. As part of an embedded careers programme at Longfield Academy, year 12 students had the opportunity to attend a series of C.V workshops in the run up to mock interviews in July. Facilitated by regular presenter, Daniel Goodwin of Pearson Whiffin Recruitment, students discussed the purpose of a C.V (to secure the applicant an interview) and examined sample C.Vs to discuss their good and bad points. Taking each section in turn, Daniel stressed the importance of good spelling, grammar and presentation as well as suitable content; to him, an achievements section is the most salient part of a C.V. Additionally, he Careers Convention reminded students of the importance of suitable and easily located contact details. On Thursday 11th July Longfield Academy held the Students will shortly be “applying” for mock roles and annual careers convention for year 10 students. We had we look forward to seeing how they have honed their students from , , C.Vs as a result of these workshops. and the Leigh UTC who took advantage of all exhibits we had on offer. Teacher, Miss Varia commented: “A fantastic C.V workshop, our students responded really They had the opportunity to speak with different positively to the advice and guidance on offer. The businesses ranging from John Lewis, The MET Police, interactive nature of the session enabled all of our NHS, Moat housing and many more. students, even those that are less confident, to ask purposeful questions to enhance their C.Vs. Thank you Daniel.” Dementia Action Week Year 13 Criminology students Visit from Rob Davis OBE, Governor of On the 20th May students and staff within the Spectrum Centre along with Jackie West, Belmarsh Prison Hartley KCC Community rd Warden organised a Tea On 23 April Mr. Davis attended the Party for 25 local elderly Academy to talk about his prison. It residents in aid of Dementia is located in Thamesmead and Action week. houses many of the toughest Staff and students from the criminals in the country. It is a very Centre have carried out a famous Category A prison. number of community events before such as gardening The talk was fascinating. It projects, art sessions and visits into the community to support confirmed some of what the students had been learning in lessons. local functions. This event included afternoon tea, sandwiches, For example, Mr. Davis stressed prisons were not simply to keep the cakes, a free raffle and entertainment. public safe from dangerous people. He also stressed the importance The response from those in attendance was fantastic with many visitors commenting on how much they had enjoyed their two of rehabilitation in prisons which means that when prisoners are hours spent talking and interacting with the students who released they return to society as better people. The students also supported the event. found out plenty of new information. Mr. Davis said one of his Well done once again to everyone involved. biggest challenges was dealing with 128 gangs inside his prison, especially as allegiances were frequently changed. For this he uses a lot of covert human intelligence.

Mr. Davis was impressed by the cleanliness of and security in the Academy. He was also pleased with the quality of the questions raised by the students during his talk. Year 12 Magistrates Court Trip

Sports Day In June & July year 12 Criminology students attended a trip to the Bromley Magistrates Court. In each visit the students had their A huge congratulations to Galileo college for winning this own Magistrate for guidance. years sports day. Before the Court Hearings began the students were given a talk

about what work is done in a Magistrates Court. They were The end results were very close but Galileo managed to reminded that whilst the Crown Court dealt with the most serious go that one step further to win the college cup. crimes, Magistrates heard at least 95% of all criminal cases.

The students then spent two hours in the public gallery observing a complete road traffic trial from start to finish. They saw the different roles of those taking part in proceedings and heard people giving evidence and being cross-examined in the dock. The guilty verdict in the first trial was a surprise. The students correctly anticipated the not guilty verdict in the second trial.

At the end of the session the Magistrate looking after the students clarified any issues and then held a question and answer session.

The students have already been using what they saw and heard during the visits in their work. They will also be able to refer back to these visits to support their learning in Year 13. Shakespeare Shorts & Music On Tuesday, we were treated to a stand up comic performance by Dylan Jones, Taylor Orsmond singing Riptide, Recital Heather Yeates performing Fight Song, and a late entry from Toby Hawkings who performed a rousing rendition of Tequila. On the 4th of July, we In the end, it was Heather and Dylan who went through to the hosted a very enjoyable final. evening of music and Shakespeare. Alongside the art exhibition, we offered the chance of musicians who have been taking lessons throughout the year to come and perform for visiting parents and friends. This was well attended and it was an absolute joy to see so many students performing. For some families, it was the first time they have ever heard their child play, and that was lovely. An enormous well done to all involved, thank you to Mrs Love for coordinating the violinists and pianists, and With a slight change to the judging panel, Mrs O’Donnell thank you to Ms. Stamp for putting it all together. volunteered her services. Damien this time chose to sing ‘Song for Mama’ (“touching and lovely”), Katelyn sang Following this was Shakespeare Shorts, a one-act play Chlorine (“Haunting”) and Heather sang No One by Jess compiled of different extracts from Shakespeare’s plays. This Glynne (“Outstanding - you are one to watch”). Dylan’s stand year, the theme was The Seven Ages of Man, and the up was dubbed “very funny” by the judges, and as the votes ensemble cast performed various scenes that showed the were counted, Toby returned to perform Tequila for a second story of human life, from birth to death. Individual performers time. were outstanding, but as a whole the cast worked well together. Accompanying the acting was Kieran Carr on guitar, In the end, it was Heather who playing pieces that he penned himself, which added to the was crowned the champion of overall atmosphere of the piece. While the logistics of Longfield’s Got Talent. performing on the plaza didn’t always go to plan, the actors covered well and it was clear a lot of work had gone into a really interesting piece of theatre.

Longfield’s Got Talent

For the first time in over four years, Longfield’s Got Talent returned to our theatre. The premise was a talent show to raise money for charity, open to the whole school at lunchtime, provided they pay 50p for a ticket. The audience Every member of the audience was an absolute credit to the then get to vote for the top 2 acts to go through to the final. school, and I am proud to say that they managed to raise over £300 for Eleanor Hospice. A panel of judges were made up of Mr Chambers, Mr Bird, Mrs Williams and Mrs Syplywczak who offered their opinions on each act to help the audience make their decision.

We began on Monday, with four acts performing: Damien Jam singing ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, Katelyn Levey singing ‘A Thousand Years’, a band of year 9 boys performing ‘Mardy Bum’, and a group of mysterious masked year 7s performed a dance mix of different songs while wearing rubber animal heads. In a very close vote, it was Katelyn and Damien who were sent through to the final.

A Level Geography Field Trips Art Exhibition

Between June 26th-28th the A-level Geography class As usual the end of year went on three fieldwork trips in preparation to complete student Summer Art their Geography coursework. They went to three Exhibition was a huge different locations, one on each day. success and a celebration On the 26th they went to Epping Forest, 27th Walton-on of the fantastic talent at -the-Naze and 28th to Leatherhead. Longfield Academy. The Art department is very At Epping Forest we undertook proud of all the work a number of different produced which is a geographical studies including showcase of the hard soil depth, infiltration rates, work, skills and passion of establishing the level of the all involved. gradient, as well as the level of interception that took place. Longfield Academy LRC We also took part in a session in a classroom where we began to Every year the library loses a large number think about various data of books due to wear and tear, lost books analysis methods. not replaced by students, books that have left with leavers and been forgotten which obviously has a dramatic effect on our At Walton-on-the- bookshelves. Naze we again undertook various The library is therefore always up for studies looking at donations be it good quality second hand or new. We do have a the success of suggested ever growing wishlist on Amazon, but obviously this is not an exhaustive list and suggestions are always welcomed as long different coastal as the books are suitable for ages 11 - 18 and to be on school management bookshelves. schemes including how the coast was protected in this area. We also gathered data on interception rates and Our Amazon wishlist is an easy way to make a donation as this the effectiveness of the hard engineering methods that comes directly to the LRC, just please put a note with your order saying who the donation is from so we know who to thank. were present along the stretch of coastline. https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ Whilst in Leatherhead ls/1XNP1EY1FHQ6K?ref_=wl_share we assessed the successfulness and effect of the regeneration that has https://www.facebook.com/ longfieldacademylrc/ taken place there and compared these areas to areas of the town https:// that are yet to experience regeneration. We looked at twitter.com/ how the high street has changed, products that are on AcademyLrc offer on the high street, and developed our own small study that we subsequently completed in the town.

We would love to know what you Thank you to all the Humanities teachers involved, are reading and books that you especially Mr Thomas, Mrs Rawkins, Miss Sheppard and would recommend. Mr Lever.

Written by Ryan Slater Year 12

Watersports Trip 2019 Towards the end of the week the temperature was rising, it was one of the hottest weeks France had had for some time, and on

Thursday it was a scorcher at 42 degrees. We carried on with the On Saturday 22nd June 6 activities in the morning as it was usually overcast until about 11am, members of staff and 59 but heading towards lunchtime we decided that the only way pupils from Longfield forward was to have a swim in the lake in order to keep cool. This Academy started the long soon developed into a mass Mega SUP session with the pupils trying journey of 12 hours and to get as many as they could onto a SUP, pushing staff in and 690 miles to Le Lac jumping off the SUP into the water with some amazing acrobatics. Mimizan.

The pupils were heading to the Rockley campsite where they were spending a week camping and taking part in a wide variety of watersports activities. As soon as we got to the Rockley Campsite we unloaded the coach and went straight to breakfast, which by then was needed. Soon after we had eaten and introduced to the Rockley staff and our Each evening at dinner we were taken on a culinary journey around instructors for the week and the pupils were briefed about the days the world visiting India for curries, Italy for pasta, China for sweet activities on the lake. Each day we were taking part in two different and sour chicken, the USA for pulled pork and sweetcorn. The most water sport activities and an evening activity. exciting dinner, for the staff anyway, was French night were for

starters we had muscles and escargot, and for the main we had beef bourguignon and tartiflette.

On Tuesday night our evening was spent in the small town of Mimizan, were the pupils were able to have a walk around the town and go down to the beach. The students were able to buy a variety ice cream and souvenirs.

On Wednesday, we went to visit the largest dune in Europe, Dune du Plait. This dune is a whopping 2.7 km in length and 110 meters above sea level. There were two ways for getting to the top of the Dune. The first taken by most members of staff was to use the steps. The second taken by most to the pupils was to run as fast as you could up the side of the dune, which had mixed amounts of success. A huge thank you goes to all staff who attended the trip and made it The view from the top were amazing, considering it was quite an as enjoyable as possible for all pupils! overcast morning. After taking in the sights at the top and enjoying a photo opportunity the only thing to do was to come down. Again many different methods were used by the pupils.

After visiting the dunes we headed back to the coach to go to the sea side town of Biscarrosse. This friendly little town hosted a variety of shops selling a range of weird and wacky souvenirs which some of the pupils took full advantage of!

Longfield Borrows the Moon Fungi in a Box

KS3 students have been getting up close This term in Science Club the students to moon rocks from NASA as part of an entered the Kew Gardens Fungi in a initiative to give students across the Box challenge. The challenge involved country the chance to experience what them growing the Fungi from seeds it might be like to land on the moon and documenting their experience of and see rocks from the moon that growing them. This not only engaged were brought back from Apollo 11 the students in Science Club but there space mission. The students used were a vast number of students from microscopes to compare the moon across the school that were rocks, meteorites and rocks from Earth. They learnt how interested in their growth and ended up visiting the to identify meteorites, carried out experiments to Fungi on a daily basis to water them. See the photos investigate the size and shape of below to see how they got on! meteorite craters on the moon and used research to debate for and against moon landing conspiracy theories. We linked these activities to careers relating to space and geology and how they help us understand the relatively unknown realm of space.

Year 7 Science Museum Trip Tomorrow’s Engineers Workshop

We had three fantastic trips to the Science Museum this KS3 students took part in an engineering workshop term. The students were enthused and inspired in the through the charity Tomorrow's Engineers. The Wonder Lab where they got to take part in a fully workshop was run by an engineer and got the students interactive gallery. They tested out friction slides, lifting to think about all the careers that are related to themselves up on pulley's, static electricity, saw the engineering, how they could fit into the engineering shape of sound waves, completing electric circuits to world as either a pioneer, designer, maker or a make hand dryers and door bells and much much more. humanitarian based on their interests and skills. The Highlights were watching the students relate what the main part of the workshop enabled the students to students had been learning in Science this year to the design and make their own electric car, test it on a track experiments around them, students and teachers and adapt their car to make it go further. The Year 7 positively participating in the interactive shows and students couldn't believe how many careers there are in listening to a student in Year 7 Anderson explain how engineering and the variety of everyday things that are interesting it was to see all of the plane engines in the produced through engineering. The students are going Flight room as each engine has a story to tell. to use what they have gained from this workshop to develop their own ideas to enter the Bright Ideas Science Club Celebration Challenge next year.

This July sees the end of the first full year of Science Club! We have taken part in a wide range of experiments some of the students favourites have been investigating owl pellets, heart dissections, uncovering fossils, fire writing and making plastic from potatoes. It has been fantastic watching the students enthusiasm for science and their scientific investigation skills grow and develop. We end the year with a firework and cannon fire practical demonstration and awards ceremony. Our Year 7s have done well this year with their reading having read a total of 2,339 books with a total of 53,916,223 words.

Our top 10 in each year group are:-