theHallParkAcademy newsletter December 2016 As we come to the end of another year here at , there is much to look back on. As you will read in this newsletter, new initiatives such as the Accelerated Reader Programme and DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time are starting to have an impact, with 3 students in Year 7 reading an impressive 1 million words. The Humanities faculty continues to offer opportunities outside of the classroom to our students, with visits to places of worship and opportunities to listen to first-hand accounts of people’s life experiences. And following on from International Women’s Day in March, it has been time for the boys at Hall Park Academy to have their opportunity to learn from inspirational male role models in a special assembly this term. As ever, the focus for Year 11 and our Sixth formers remains preparing for examinations. Year 11 students this half term have embraced the new “Period 6” with an appropriate amount of enthusiasm. I was also impressed with the way they prepared for and conducted themselves in the mock exams and look forward to what the next set of predictions will show. This term sees us saying farewell to Mrs Nutley who is moving to teach Science at in Mansfield and also Mr Burrows, a member of our site team who has a job working for Giltbrook Cleaners. On behalf of everyone at Hall Park Academy, I would like to thank them for their hard work and wish them luck for the future. Merry Christmas.

www.hallparkacademy.org.uk www.twitter.com/hallparkacademy Message from the Chair of Governors When the Governors decided to become an Academy within the Trust a little over two years ago, we all felt that this would finally give Eastwood children the chance they deserved to receive a vastly improved education. But not even in our wildest dreams did we believe that in this time our Year 11 students would significantly increase their grades at GCSE. In 2014, 48% achieved 5 passes at A*-C. This has increased this year by almost 20% At A Level, too, we had a brilliant year and saw our Year 13 students achieve such high quality passes that for the first time ever, a significant number went on to Russell Group universities and into good quality apprenticeships. But, Hall Park is not just about achievement at the highest level. It is about ensuring that all our students achieve the best that they can do academically and personally. And that they do this in a happy and safe environment. So we also put great store by our pastoral care system which involves all staff and students in a variety of ways. This, too, has been hugely successful and is turning our school into a caring, sharing place of work. Given yet another excellent year, and one in which Hall Park officially became the most improved secondary school in , on behalf of the Governing Body I thank Mrs Dyce, her senior team and all staff. Their unfailing devotion to helping all students achieve excellence in all that they do, reminds us how important a rounded education is. Indeed, their efforts in raising academic, behavioural, attendance and pastoral standards across the school has been noted by parents from beyond our normal catchment area who now see Hall Park as the natural place for their children’s secondary education. Finally, this year I pay tribute to our Governing Body. All give freely of their time, attending evening and daytime events for the school and the wider Redhill Academy Trust. Three governors stood down this year. Hayley Gilbert, Dave Banner and Stephen Parker have given many years of sterling service, all in their own time. I thank the governing body, past and present for their commitment and dedication.

Harvest Festival Here at Hall Park Academy we place a high value on helping others. In previous years we have always had a good response to our annual Harvest Festival Appeal, this year was no exception. The students were treated to a special Harvest Festival Assembly, which was led by Rev. Anna Alls (Curate at St Mary’s Church, Eastwood). Her message was based on the famous Bible story “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” Anna emphasised the importance of helping people that we may or may not know. She also explained that Food Banks run particularly low on food at the start of a new academic year, as some parents can struggle to buy new uniforms and put food on the table. The message appeared to strike a chord with both staff and students alike. All of the tins and packets that were generously donated by the students have been passed onto The Eastwood Foodbank. Visit from a Holocaust survivor On Tuesday 11 October Year 8 heard a special guest speaker retell his story of escape from Nazi-controlled Poland. It was a privilege for us to welcome Simon Winston to our school and his testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced. We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Simon’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives; there can be no better way than through the first- hand testimony of a survivor. Simon’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing his testimony, students had the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead. Simon was born in 1938 in a small town called Radzivillov, then part of Poland, now in the independent state of the Ukraine. Simon, his mother and father, and his brother were forced to live in a ghetto and Simon experienced much brutality there. However, Simon and his family were able to escape from the ghetto where they went into hiding at a farm. They lived in very cramped conditions. When they were told they had been freed and the war was over, Simon and his family became refugees and spent two years in a Displaced Persons Camp before moving to . Simon has remained in England ever since, sharing his story in order to highlight the importance of learning from the past. Prison! Me? No Way! Students from Year 8 were given a unique insight of life behind bars recently as they took part in a ‘Prison Me – No Way’ session to learn more about the causes, consequences and penalties of crime and the effects of anti-social behaviour. All Year 8 students attended the sessions, where they met serving prisoners to hear their stories about how crime had impacted on their lives and those around them. The sessions, run by Prison Officers, are just one of a number of education initiatives taking place in the North of Broxtowe Borough to raise awareness about and reduce anti-social behaviour and crime in the local community. Just some of the comments from the students about whether they will change their behaviour following the session include: •“By being more aware of others doing wrong and by leaving bad situations” •“By standing up for myself and not be so easily pushed to do things I don’t want to” •“I won’t get involved in serious situations and will focus more on me and my career rather than my friends” Netball and the CVL Netball club has gone from strength to strength this year. We now have around 35 girls attending training on a weekly basis. We have teams in Years 7, 8, 9, and 10. If you would like to join the Netball club but haven’t been to training yet, don’t worry, just come along on a Monday night and join in - everyone is welcome. For the first time ever Hall Park has entered the Nottinghamshire Schools Central Venue Netball League. This League is for all schools to enter in Nottinghamshire and is a qualifying round for the county competitions. The standard of competition is very high and so we were excited to be able to enter this year. The Year 9 team travelled to Fernwood School for the first two weeks of their competition. Drawn against the High School, George Spencer, Bramcote and Fernwood we were ready for some tough matches. We played against Toot Hill in our final round of this competition. With Hannah Lakritz setting the pace over the centre court we made a good start. Chloe Talmey and Ellie Bestwick made some fantastic interceptions and defensive moves. Lizzy Coupe was also a solid defender making vital blocks of the ball into the circle. Jasmine Grice proved to be an effective attacker feeding the ball well into the circle for both Abbie Staples and Megan Rigley to shoot. Abbie and Megan were super attackers showing great movement around the circle. The final scores were super: • Wins against the High School A, Trinity, High School B and Fernwood. • Narrow defeats against George Spencer, Bramcote and Toothill. Cross country On Wednesday 19th October, Hall Park hosted the 2016 annual Broxtowe Cross Country Championships. During the morning session, 6 Broxtowe Primary Schools attended the event with over 150 pupils taking part. There were some super runners and it was fantastic to see so many supporters here to cheer on their family and friends. During the afternoon session, 6 Broxtowe Primary Schools attended the competition and well over 200 pupils from across the district took part. Hall Park did really well as a school and we have some special mentions for those pupils who qualified to now go on to represent Broxtowe at the Nottinghamshire School Cross Country Championships held later this year. • Aciah Hamilton - 3rd in the Year 7 girls • Josh Gregory - 1st in the Year 7 boys • Lewis George - 4th in the Year 7 boys • Charlie Bone - 6th in the Year 7 boys • Holly Bailey - 13th in the Year 8/9 girls • Finlay Whyte - 12th in the Year 8/9 boys • Dylan George - 3rd in the Year 11 boys Halloween Craft This Halloween, 30 students took part in a Halloween Craft activity in our library to make some spooky Trick or Treat bags. Students were given various materials and decorations, and came up with some amazing designs of their own. Our spooky students really enjoyed the lunchtime event which gave them a fun opportunity to show their creative side and look at the meanings and history behind this terrifying tradition. Hall Park Factor This year’s Hall Park Factor was the hardest one to judge so far. The talent that was showcased was second to none and everyone who sang deserves a special well done and thank you. This year we had a range from Eminem to Birdy, along with acoustic versions of songs that really showed off the ability of our students here at Hall Park. The winner, Ella Teggart, wowed us with her beautiful singing voice and is definitely one to look out for in our upcoming performances in the future.

It’s a Knockout This December, some of our students compete in a variety of wacky contests including cone relay, musical chairs and bowls at our annual ‘It’s a Knockout’ event. This year’s standout (and seemingly impossible!) task was balancing a gym ball between the backs of 4 team members. Astle put in their best performance in the bowls game with Lawrence winning the Musical Chairs, Gym Ball relay and the Jumping with a ball between their knees game. Our standout students were: Dylan George, Taylor Wright, Kieran Barnes, Shawn Brown, Jamie Brown, Ericka Stokes, Dexter Fairbank, Jack Higgins, Logan Betts and Aciah Hamilton Lawrence Collier Erewash Astle 1st Place - 17 pts 2nd Place - 14 pts Third Place - 10 pts Fourth Place - 9 pts Trip to Southwell Minster On 17 October some students from Year 7 went to Southwell Minster for the day to learn about how sacred space is used. We learned about what happens in Rites of Passage like Baptism and Marriage, and why we use sacred space to remember people’s lives. We learnt what communion is about, practiced processing and learnt about robes and vestments, learnt about sacred music (Seth Fiddyment even got to play the organ) and looked at how art in the Minster inspires a spiritual response. It was a good day of intensive learning and a hands-on Religious Studies experience.

Interhouse Spelling Bee Buzz! Buzz!! Buzz!!! The Hall Park Spelling Bee took place in a highly charged, intense competition between the houses. After steady performances from all houses, the words became more challenging and students had to be at the very top of their spelling game. Soon the pressure was on and the house teams were really focused on spelling their words to keep their houses in contention to win Spelling Bee 2016. As the competition entered its final nail biting conclusion, words ranged from “captivated” to “chastise” to “reactionary” which tested our teams and their ability to perform under pressure. Special mentions go to Freya Meakin from Collier, Leon Clarke from Erewash and Harvey Hutsby from Astle who came second. Overall winners were Lawrence House! Well done! Charity Work This term at Hall Park Academy has seen several successful fund- raising events. Firstly we had our Charity Clothing Collection, where pupils donated unwanted clothes and shoes for the Headway charity shop in Eastwood. Eight full bags were taken in total, and were gratefully received. Alongside this our Charity Ambassadors organised a raffle which raised £74, this will be divided and donated to our house charities: The Ryan Lee Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust, Rainbows, Headway and Hope for Justice. They contacted local businesses and secured a gorgeous food filled hamper from Morrisons plus loads of chocolately treats from Thorntons. We would like to express our gratitude to these companies for their support and donations. On November 18th we had a ‘spotty’ non- uniform for Children in Need, thank you to all that participated and donated; we’re pleased to say we raised £481.26. Operation Christmas Child fever took over at Hall Park this year, as we were on a mission to send at least 100 shoeboxes to less fortunate children around the world. In 2015 we sent 96 boxes, this year we sent an absolutely outstanding 168 boxes! This really emphasises the generous and caring nature of pupils at Hall Park Academy, and as always we are most grateful for your support. Christmas Lights Switch On On the 29th November a select few musicians performed on the library stage in Eastwood for the towns lights switch on. There was a great atmosphere with supporters from school and the community coming to enjoy some of our best musicians. We had performers from Year 13 all the way to Year 10 who did themselves proud singing and playing some great music and getting us into the festive spirit.

Christmas Concert After last years success with A Christmas Carol, this year the drama club students performed The Grinch as part of the Christmas Concert. Liam Hemstock played the nasty trickster with the rest of the drama club being part of the Whoville ensemble and chorus. The choral speaking piece was shared in four parts throughout the concert and was a fantastic platform for some of our first time performers from Year 7 and some of the more seasoned Year 8 students. ‘Proof after all...that Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!’ Accelerated Literature There is still a real buzz about Accelerated Reading here at Hall Park with staff and students really engaging in their chance to read daily. I’m really pleased to inform you all that we already have three students who have read their millionth word so far this year (see below) ! This is an amazing accomplishment and they’re definitely not stopping there. We also held our Parent Literacy Event this half term and it was great to see so many parents and students take part in the activities the night had to offer, ranging from dramatic storytelling by our guest speaker Mexico Mike, to Mr Mee taking us into the world of engineering and Miss McCrellis sharing how important Literacy is in Dance. It really did show the impact reading that has on every subject and why it is so important. Millionaires Club 3 students have recently become part of our new Hall Park Millionaire’s Reading Club. The following students have successfully read and quizzed on over a million words on their Accelerated Reader account, congratulations to: Matthew Frost (CJF), James Walker (CEM) and Benjamin Cook (ASJ). “On the road to one million words, I read a lot of great books, however, I particularly enjoyed the Harry Potter series. It is everything you would want in a book (as well as expect) and it’s the main reason as to why I got my One Million words. I believe that others should read as well, because it is a great way to spend time as well as to tell you different aspects of life.” - James Walker “My favourite book has to be Harry Potter. I really enjoy the world of Fantasy as it’s a time to escape. I like the fact we get to do this every day for a short while in school and it’s definitely helped me achieve my two million words! I’m well on my way to three million - there’s no stopping me!” - Matt Frost. International Men’s Day Over the last few years we have had events to coincide with “International Women’s Day” so we thought that it was important that this event was celebrated too. The boys in Year 7 & 8 were treated to a special “Boys Only” assembly. We invited in two local inspirational male figures to talk to our young men. The inspirational figures were Eastwood Town’s Mayor (Coun. Keith Longdon) and Geoff Cooke who amongst other things was a Commonwealth, World and Olympic Cyclist for Team GB. Each guest speaker took it in turns to discuss what it takes to be an upstanding member of the community. They also answered some great questions from our young men. The quote of the day “There is only one place that Success comes before Work and that is in the Dictionary!” I am sure our young men were inspired. The staff certainly were!

Work Skills Exhibition The Year 11 and Year 12 Health and Social Care students attended the Skills Show at the NEC Birmingham. The show covers five industry sectors- hospitality and lifestyle, construction and infrastructure, engineering and technology, IT and Enterprise, Media and Creative Arts. The students had the opportunity to take part in the ‘have a go skills’ for each sector to learn about the practical application for each industry. Along with seeking advice and guidance and information on different career opportunities, to listening to motivational speaker to build aspirations for the future. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day which was valuable to their learning and the development of their studies and progression to higher education. Post 16 The latest results came into school recently showing that Hall Park Sixth Form students achieve better progress during their two years with us than the national average. This shows that not only is Hall Park Sixth Form the natural choice, being friendly and local, it is also a high performing Sixth Form where students do well. Our recruitment for September 2017 is looking positive and we have interest from students in other schools such as Selston and St John Houghton following recent careers fairs. Year 12 students have settled in to A Level studying now and are busy making career plans and arranging work experience for next July! It is a big jump up from GCSE to A Level but we are pleased that students have risen to the challenges well and are making good progress. Several students are applying to schemes to help them get into the top universities next year, such as Ambition. Two students, Robert Marks- Smith and Daniel Millar are taking part in a prestigious programme called HE+ aimed at helping to make a successful application to Cambridge or Oxford. Year 13 students have been researching university courses and are completing their applications to UCAS as Christmas approaches ready for the January 15th deadline. It is interesting to read the personal statements and the varied choices they have decided upon such as Law, History, Psychology and Sport. Students looking for high end apprenticeships have been following the National Apprenticeship Service materials aimed at informing them of the facts about apprenticeships, how to search for them and how to become more employable! Our first group session was a success and four more are planned in the New Year. We are also booked in for the National Apprenticeship Show in March and students have signed up for mock interviews and CV checks with a Governor, Paul Smith, in order to be ready to obtain that dream apprenticeship! Over 50 students attended the Remembrance Service at the Almshouses and in Centenary fields on Mansfield Road on Friday 11th November. This coincides with our Dress to Impress Day and it continues to give us great pride that young people in Eastwood choose to give their time to reflect on those who gave their lives for others in armed conflicts. The local mayor and other dignitaries commented on how impressed they were with our students.