theHallParkAcademy newsletter December 2016 As we come to the end of another year here at Hall Park Academy, 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 The Brunts Academy 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 Redhill Academy 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 Nottinghamshire, 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 England. 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.