Newsletter 10:7:2015
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ACADEMY NEWS 10th July 2015 E X P L O R E QR to view on the web BE YOUR BEST Principal’s Report Whilst students and staff have been actively engaged in a range of fabulous activities for the 2015 Adventure Learning Week, I have been helping to develop exciting plans for the new academic year to ensure Mounts Bay Academy continues to be a beacon of excellence in Adventure Learning for 2015-16 and beyond. This week I have been working with a great team of Adventure Learning enthusiasts including Professor David Hopkins who is the founder of the Adventure Learning movement and recently voted the most influential educationalist in the UK and 16th most influential in the world according to the Global Gurus listings. Other members of this group are Jack Jackson, Principal of Launceston College, and Andy Barclay Head of Cornwall Outdoors. We were all invited as special guests to the official opening of Launceston College Adventure Learning Centre and we took the opportunity to develop a revised framework for the award of Adventure Learning School status and to set up a National qualification in Character Development. This will provide progression for Mounts Bay students who have completed their Full Colours and Duke of Edinburgh award so their curriculum vitae can "stand out from the crowd" compared to other students when they apply to college, university or employment placements. There is even talk of a climbing trip to top of the world destinations for the real adventurers in the Academy. Watch this space. It is always a great opportunity to learn from other great Cornish schools and Launceston College has opened it doors this week to representatives from our Senior Team at Mounts Bay and we have had the privilege to see a different learning culture from our own but one that we can learn a great deal from. I hope to emulate their amazing new Adventure Learning Centre and introduce the problem-solving and enquiry-based learning ideas that we saw to such good effect on our visit to classrooms and the school grounds. We will soon be opening our new sports and adventure facilities for the Academy and the community including an amazing Sports Hall and a mountain bike track. This week Mounts Bay Leavers’ Ball was featured on Woman’s Hour on Radio 4. If you would like to hear the programme, click here. Don’t forget next Friday is our last day and we break up at 12.15. The first day of the new school year will be Monday 7th Best wishes September. Year 8-11 will have a Student Led Conference on this day and Year 7 will have a day’s induction. The first full day back in school will be on Tuesday 8th September. Sara Davey Academy Principal BE CREATIVE Year 7’s Week The week started with Year 7 being taken on a multi-sensory voyage of discovery in the Drama Studio. Year 7 have spent the week developing their creativity. On Monday and Tuesday they took part in a series of trips to sites around Penzance including Newlyn Art Gallery. During the rest of the week they spent their time working on an in-depth project that was exhibited on Friday afternoon. The exhibition consisted of performances, sculptures, painted skimboards and documentary films. It was a great week that really did develop their creative skills. Report by Mr Hall Guided Walks Beside the seaside was the place to be on Monday and Tuesday, for Year 7s when they joined their Learning Support Manager Mrs Bryony Rylett, a professional tour guide, for short, guided walks along Penzance seafront. During the walks, which investigated some of the history, heritage and culture of Penzance, as well as the flora and fauna, students discovered, amongst other things, the link between Queen Elizabeth 1, Malteser chocolates and seaweed and why the paving slabs on Penzance promenade are pink. Report by Mrs Rylett BE CREATIVE Gallery Visit As part of Adventure Learning week Year 7 visited the thought-provoking exhibition 'In Search of the Miraculous' at the Newlyn Gallery. The show was about the link between art and adventure, featuring work across a range of disciplines- including film and photography. Students were greeted with a talk about the exhibition, and took part in a creative questionnaire which asked them to think like a practising artist. They responded to questions such as, 'What new artwork would you create that links to the theme of the miraculous?' 'If you could go on any expedition to make a piece of art, what would it be and why?' Each Year 7 student engaged with the work with interest, asked meaningful questions and were perfectly behaved at all times. The gallery staff were very impressed with the insightful and reflective comments of each tutor group. Report by Miss Green Well done Year 7! BE CREATIVE Skimboard Design This week over 90 of Year 7 have been working as professional skimboard designers. They have worked with focus and enthusiasm to develop an innovative and personal design that was presented in a final assembly on Friday afternoon. The students have used their awareness of colour theory, composition, shape and the current skimboard/surfboard market to refine their designs to reach a range of sophisticated outcomes. Throughout each session, groups have used peer-critique to offer constructive feed-forward to help them improve their designs. The final board designs look very effective and it has been a pleasure working with such a hard-working, fun and focused group of students. Great work Year 7! Report by Miss Green BE CREATIVE Year 7 go to War! Students in Year 7 discovered the art of warfare by building the classic catapult- a trebuchet. Following stage one, model making, students moved on to make a one meter trebuchet from wood, nails, sweat and glue. The aim was to catapult a tennis ball as far as possible. The trebuchets were taken onto the school field on Friday and all the students hard work resulted in some magnificent distances being recorded. "We started by making the frame then the counter weight, then made the beam. It's been fun, we've all had a great few days, and would love to have more like it. (Finley Terry, 7 Orange) "...our project has gone very well, it turned out to be a challenge.” (Josh Reeves, 7 Red) Students even made time to contribute to an iMovie account, the best of which was shown to the Year group to round off a fantastic week. Report by Mr Boex BE CREATIVE Kite Building Great success with kite building on Monday and Tuesday with Year 7; from scrap sails and bamboo from the copse to flight in one hour! The wind was strong on both days, so they had to be well made and tough to survive. Well done to all eight tutor groups, great effort. Report by Mr Kilby BE CREATIVE Drawing Workshop On Monday and Tuesday Year 7 took part in drawing workshops with Mrs Dale. We experimented with different methods of mark making working from a variety of different still life objects on the theme of 'The beach'. Students explored their drawing skills using both their right and left hands, individually and simultaneously, blind fold drawing, memory drawing as well as mouth and feet drawing! Lots of laughter and pleasant surprises during the grand reveal of the blindfold drawings. Fabulous concentration and great efforts by all. Report by Mrs Dale News Crew Documentary During Adventure Week a small group of Year 7s have been making a film about all the other activities running for Year 7 students this week. Students learnt how to interview using open questions, how to frame shots, use different types of shot, edit and narrate short documentary films. The resulting films were really well put together and the students obviously learnt a great deal. During their experience they also had a go at green screen weather presenting. Their films were presented at the Year 7 assembly on Friday. Report by James Salmon Curtin BE CREATIVE Page to Stage The students began their journey on a roller coaster, experiencing the thrill of twisting and turning in space. After warming up with some games, each group was tasked with the challenge of interpreting a script in 15 minutes about two goldfish stuck in a bowl. The performances threw up questions as to how to approach a script and make it come alive on the stage. The students were then moved quickly on to a new project and were asked to create a scene based on animals. There were adaptations varying from the Jungle Book to the popular Madagascar, including scenes of acting and singing. The students were transformed through the magic of face paint and costume with the help of Miss West and Miss Osborne. By the end of the day, the students took to the stage and performed their pieces in front of one another. A very busy and enjoyable day! The next day we spent some time reflecting on the experience of day one and had the time to consolidate some of the ideas and skills that we had learnt and discussed. Through this reflection time, students were able to share what they believe makes a fantastic performance. The first activity of the day was based around a choice of two short scripted pieces. Students had 45 minutes to bring the script alive, thinking about character, timing and staging. It was great to see how a simple script can be interpreted in a variety of ways and it was clear that the students had made huge progress from day one.