Elvin Newsletter Summer 2 July 2015

Well done on a ‘great’ first year at Elvin!

What a busy, successful year! A huge thank you from me to all the pupils, teachers, parents and members of the wider school community in supporting us during our first year. There are so many fabulous examples of magna aude which I could share with you from over the course of the year. Some of my personal favourites include:  Demonstrating mastery in sport in so many ways, most recently at sports day and when our year 10 cricket team recently won the Brent cricket cup  Our excellent spelling team demonstrating courage and mastery by winning the Ark Spelling Bee  Coming second place in the Ark Chess Championship, after only two weeks of practising  Showing what a welcoming community we are at Elvin when we hosted the Ark Maths Challenge  Three of our fabulous year 13 students being awarded Marshall Wace 3 year awards to support them through university

arkelvinacademy.org @ARKElvinAcademy  The integrity and courage demonstrated by all of our year 11s in their final efforts to get the best results they could in their GCSE exams  The strength of our house communities as they took part in a variety of house challenges and competitions  Being humbled by all of those pupils and colleagues who gave up their Saturday morning to pack bags and raise money for Sufra foodbank  Making the final of Spire Hub – see inside this newsletter for more details

I hope that you have all enjoyed this year as much as we have. We are excited about our plans for September and I look forward to welcoming parents into the school again next term. In the meantime, have a wonderful summer break and thank you again for your support.

2015 Elvin House Cup

It has been a close battle all year with singing competitions, science week, merit collecting, audience participation, magna aude awards and many more events being totalled up to decide who would win the coveted Elvin house cup. The leader board has changed every term, as our pupils earn more and more house points.

After totalling up all of the scores I’m delighted to announce that this year’s cup winner is:

Well done to all pupils and colleagues in the house. Let’s see if they can retain the title next year or

whether another house can beat them to it.

Best wishes,

Fantastic efforts and atmosphere at Elvin Sports Day

On Friday June 17, we had our first ever Elvin Sports Day. It was a fantastic day where our pupils tried their best in every event and behaved brilliantly throughout.

It was wonderful to see so many pupils and staff dress in their house colours and get into the ‘Magna Aude’ spirit. The competition between the houses was very close and it pupils waited with baited breath to find out the final winner in assembly this morning. It was very close between the houses, but Rowling eventually came out on top, with Angelou second and Farah third.

There were some outstanding individual performances and new school records were set for every year group in every event. However, the real highlight of the day was how our school came together as a community to not only compete against each other but also support and cheer one another on. It was a real testament to the hard work our pupils and staff have put in this year and was a shining example of how close we are as a school community.

A special mention needs to go to Mr Odutayo and the rest of the PE team for their hard work and preparation for such an enjoyable and successful day. We’re looking forward to next year already!

INTEGRITY  COURAGE  COMMUNITY  MASTERY Year 10 team wins the Brent cricket cup

Well done to our year 10 cricket team, who won a historic victory on 15th July to lift the Brent cup and bring Elvin our first piece of sporting silverware.

In the final they defeated Kingsbury High, who had held the cup since 2012. Arunan and Kushal report:

“Elvin's first game was against Jewish Free School (JFS). Elvin batted first and scored 191 runs off 20 overs. Lestor scored 87 runs striking a lot of sixes. Afterwards Elvin bowled them out for 43 runs. Dhruvik bowled a great spell of fast bowling but it was Lestor who got man of match. The second match was against Preston manor. Elvin bowled first and Kushal and Jamshed bowled tightly and with the help of others restricted Preston Manor to 41 runs. Elvin chased the total comfortably with 8 overs to spare and losing only one wicket through a run out. Jamshed was man of match for picking up 4 wickets.

The next match was against Alperton which was by far the closest match in the whole tournament for Elvin. Bowling first Alperton made 125 runs off 18 overs. Unfortunately Elvin got off to a bad start as the opener got out first ball. However Yankesh, Arunan, Lestor, Nirmal and Dhruvik got the runs in time. Arunan was man of match for high scoring with 38 runs. The final match in the group stage for Elvin was against Claremont. Batting first Elvin made 72 runs off 15 overs. Krutik played an excellent innings scoring 38 runs and anchoring the innings when wickets were falling at the other end. Perfect fielding and accurate bowling meant Claremont was all out for 49 runs.

The final was against . Batting first the top five batsmen got starts but could capitalise on it. Nirmal Ramesh high scored with 20 runs and the team scored 131 runs which shows how much of a collective effort it was. Vyomesh and Krutik bowled aggressively to start the defence of 131 runs but it was Niraml’s 5 wicket haul that won Ark Elvin the match and tournament.”

School improvement, team building, and water guns: year 12 induction comes to a close

Our new year 12 pupils completed their induction by presenting their recommendations for improving the school to a panel led by Ms Bates and also including our Chair of Governors. This team research and strategy challenge was just one element of their four week induction period which included a range of inspiring, interesting, and enjoyable experiences. One of our year 12s, Olufunke, writes:

“On the first day of the induction, we were making tall buildings out of sticky tape and newspapers. We were given all kinds of opportunities such as helping out with the year six's induction. I found this really exciting as the children quickly overcame their shy stage and became more confident in themselves. In addition, we learnt several important skills such as how to present yourself in an interview and answer the questions asked in them, how to write CVs and personal statements, and researching, scripting and executing presentations. Not only that, but we were also given the authority to observe lessons and write reports on them, which allowed us to develop a deeper insight into how schools work, and the importance of things that we may have initially thought was unnecessary and even annoying. We were also given subject time which was a brief introduction to the A Level courses offered, enabling us to make our decisions. We even went on trips to AXA, an investment bank, and Bloomberg, a computing organisation. This thus helped us to develop transferable skills. The induction wasn't all heavily based on education; we not only played rounders out in the field, but also Ms Bates' version of the Highland Games, hopping round on space hoppers and skipping ropes, and getting soaked by water guns!

INTEGRITY  COURAGE  COMMUNITY  MASTERY A few people came in to speak about their careers or university, including Tazeem Ahmad, a famous journalist and presenter on Dispatches. I found the question and answer session very interesting as we found out so much about her. One thing I loved about the induction was how much freedom that we were given. We could choose which trips we went on, how to carry out our projects and what we did or where we went during lunch breaks. I really did enjoy the sixth form induction, and I found out a lot of useful information about A Levels, and life skills.” Kristof, another year 12, adds: “I learnt a lot from the four weeks as I got advice that I never had before. For example, when we went to the AXA investment bank it gave me a very clear perspective on how to achieve anything we want in life no matter whether it is saving money, getting a job, or just becoming a better human being because the main idea is that we have to start as early as possible. This concept created an even more interesting ideology for me about A- level, so that I will begin to study my subjects in the summer, especially Maths and Geography, therefore in September I will be able to make my short term goals. Some people said to me that maybe it is too early, but I must stick with the fact that "It is much better to be way ahead, than way behind". Another essential thing that I got out of this programme is to work effectively as a team and also to be an effective team leader and organiser. As a result of this, in the future, I will never be scared of any interviews and it will be pleasure to speak in front of any audience regardless from how many people are watching me. Of course, in this sense, it reinforced my confidence at public speaking. On the other hand, thanks for this induction I was able to take my improvisation skills to the next level as we had to do tasks like team building or designing a product in less than 20 minutes. This was extremely helpful because we will need this knowledge in the future if we want to be successful and make our fortune in a shorter period. Nevertheless, the speakers from different spheres of business such the journalist Tazeen Ahmad opened our minds to many other opportuinities that we have never heard of. For instance, I realised that journalism actually has thousands of areas where people can become successful, famous and highly intelligent even if nowadays, it is quite dangerous. In closing, I enjoyed every part of the induction programme and I hope there will be even more opportunities provided in September. This truly made me have a positive start for the summer full of ambition and aspiration. I believe it made me realise how to start becoming a better person not just by myself, but in terms of helping other people.”

Elvin community celebrates International Day

On 10th July, the Elvin community celebrated our first annual International Day. Pupils and staff came to school wearing heritage dress for the day, and it was wonderful to see so many different countries and communities represented in such colourful style.

In the afternoon we held the International Day fair, with entertainment including international music and dancing, a bouncy castle and sumo suits. As well as a traditional ice cream van, there was also homemade international food including some delicious Nepalese treats contributed by one of our parents, Mr Pudasaini, and a group of pupils drawing beautiful henna tattoos.

Plenty of fun was had by pupils, parents, and staff alike, with one year 9 pupil commenting that “this was one of the best days in school this year!”

The fair raised over £400, which will go towards new books for the school library, with a proportion also going towards relief for the recent earthquake in Nepal.

A big thank you to everyone in the Elvin community who contributed to making the day such a big success.

INTEGRITY  COURAGE  COMMUNITY  MASTERY Audience wowed at Elvin’s got Talent 2015!

All six houses impressed the audience and judges in our first Elvin’s got Talent competition at the end of June. For the first time, every Elvin pupil and member of staff was packed into the hall, and the atmosphere was electric as the acts vied to win house points from the judging panel led by Ms Bates and includingeleven new Elvin teachers (the only neutral people at the school as they don’t yet have houses!).

There was an incredible range of performances. First up was a beatboxing performance for Malala House by Joshua (year 9), followed by Nerija (also year 9) singing for Rowling House. Next, Kalise (year 10) sang acapella for Mandela House, and a trio of Bollywood dancers – Hetvi, Bipasha, and Nikita (all year 7) – stepped up for Sutton. The show was rounded off with a Farah trio of Lycia (year 10) on piano singing with Alimire and Nasrat (year 7), and finally a medley performance by Angelou featuring Mustafa, Lemar, Reshma, Hitaxi, Urvisha, Mahima, and Krisha (year 7) alongside Shai and Vinuki (year 9).

The event was a great example of the Elvin values, with all performers showing the mastery they have achieved through practicing their talents – and getting through their houses’ auditions – and the audience showing great community, supporting not only their own houses but every performance with great repect and enthusiasm.

After three weeks of suspense, Angelou House were announced in this morning’s assembly as the winners. Well done Angelou, and all other houses too!

Year 7 induction gets off to a flying start

Year 6 induction was a huge success at this June. Over 100 pupils from primary schools from the surrounding areas attended the two induction days and pupils were welcomed in to the school by Principal, Ms Bates, Head of Year 7, Mr Archer and new Year 12 6th formers.

After being sorted in to form groups (named after eight inspirational poets) the pupils were given a short assembly on vision for the new year group and introduced to our school motto and values. However, it wasn't long before pupils were off enjoying a carousel of taster lessons in a variety of subject areas. With the sun shining, pupils enjoyed sports and team building games outside whilst those inside experienced food technology, drama, music and art. The pupils had their first experience of Ark Elvin's first class catering and before they knew it the day had come to a close.

The second day saw all the pupils, again in their form groups, experiencing the lessons they were not involved in the previous day. Once they completed their carousel, pupils were then invited to the closing assembly in the hall where pupils were singled out for praise having displayed the values across their sessions over the two days. Pupils were then joined by the rest of the school to experience their first Ark Elvin house competition: 'Elvin's got Talent'. The two days were hugely enjoyable and we cannot wait to welcome our new Year 7s for the reminder of their induction, with summer school this week followed by their start in September.

INTEGRITY  COURAGE  COMMUNITY  MASTERY New year 7 & 11 pupils look forward to summer schools

Year 7 Summer School

Elvin will be running a Summer School for Year 7 pupils who will be joining the school in September. The Summer School will run from 9.30am until 3.30pm for eight days starting on Wednesday 22nd July and finishing on Friday 31st July. This is a very exciting opportunity to welcome our new Elvin pupils, helping them to get to know the school and others in their year group a bit better before they start here in September.

Pupils will take part in a variety of activities both within and outside school. The focus will be on improving pupils’ literacy and numeracy as well as boosting their confidence and giving them the skills to succeed at Elvin. Activities will include:

 Sports and exciting team games with fellow new pupils  Street dance classes from a professional dance teacher  Drama workshops with pupils teaming up to put on a production.  Maths and English booster classes to give pupils a head start for September

Year 11 Summer School

We will also be running an English Language Summer School for pupils going into Year 11 in September. Pupils have been selected to take part in this exciting opportunity on the basis of their current English assessment data and information from their subject teachers.

The Summer School will run from 9.30am until 3.30pm for one week starting on Monday 24th August and finishing on Friday 28th August. At the end of Summer School we will be holding a prize giving ceremony and showing an exhibition of pupils’ work from 2.00pm on Friday 28st August which we would be delighted for you to attend.

Pupils will take part in a variety of activities both within and outside the Academy. The focus will be on improving pupils’ spoken and written literacy, their grammar and comprehension as well as boosting their confidence and giving them the skills they need to be successful in their Year 11 GCSE examinations. Activities will include:

 2h15 of English classes every day. This includes building on pupils’ knowledge of English grammar, comprehension, spoken language and extended written language.  Epic adventure games and exciting team sports with fellow pupils  Drama workshops with pupils teaming up to put on a production. This includes classes on script writing to further their written English.

Exam season finishes a big success

Elvin pupils did themselves proud over the last few weeks during their end of year assessments. This is the first time all year groups have sat end of year exams in every subject in the hall, under formal exam conditions. Not only were pupils revising at home and working with each other and their teachers throughout, but they took the exams themselves wonderfully seriously. We have no doubt that all of their hard work over the year will have paid off.

The exams were both an important way to find out how each pupil is achieving and what they need to do to improve, and also a valuable opportunity for pupils to practice sitting assessments under these conditions in preparation for their eventual GCSEs and A levels.

Teachers have now discussed the assessments with their pupils and many already know what went well and where the areas to improve are. We will be using those assessments to help with the coming year and pupils will come home next September with both their end of year results and their targets for 2015-2016 in their planners.

Well done to all pupils for the fantastic attitude they have shown during the exam period.

INTEGRITY  COURAGE  COMMUNITY  MASTERY Year 10 pupils graduate Spire Hub

On 25th June, a group of twenty four Year 10 pupils travelled to University College to graduate from the Spire Hub programme. They have attended sessions every Thursday after school, working in small groups on a variety of projects with mentors who are all qualified teachers or high achieving young people from the local community, and with support from Mr Musinguzi.

The programme has three aims: ensuring pupils are on track to achieve top GCSE grades; developing their life skills and emotional intelligences such as confidence and resilience; and developing their awareness of higher education and careers options to foster higher aspirations. Hiba, one of the pupils who graduated, commented that it had met these aims, saying “Spire Hub gave me a lot more confidence. It completely changed my mindset from totally fixed, to a growth mindset. It also made me more keen to come to school every day”.

A highlight of the programme was when one team from Elvin came in the top ten of 240 teams from across the country, winning a place in the final of a competition to present a marketing plan they had devised for TalkTalk, one of the UK’s largest mobile, broadband and TV networks. At the final, in the central London headquarters of the advertising agency Chi & Partners, they pitched their plan to executives including TalkTalk’s Head of Marketing and the founder of The Ideas Foundation. The team, consisting of Rayan, Lorellai, Sokaina, Khadija, Omar, and Khuram, pitched a cinema advertising campaign featuring a squirrel as its main character.

Joseph Kimmelman, Programme Manager at Spire Hub, said: “The Ark Elvin students worked extremely hard and gave a very professionally-delivered pitch. The judges were hugely impressed by the students and it’s clear that the group have built up a really good understanding of how to thrive in a business environment.”

It has been fantastic to see all twenty four year 10s working hard and improving their skills throughout the year, and we look forward to more success with Spire Hub and next year’s year 10.

Year 11 celebrate finishing their GCSEs in style

Year 11 swapped their revision guides and past papers for ball gowns and dancing shoes as they celebrated the end of their GCSEs in style at the end of year 11 prom. The party was well deserved, following a year of hard work – not only during normal school hours, but with many late night study sessions at home and year 11s coming into school during the holidays for extra intervention sessions.

Celebration was definitely in the air at the prom, with food, an Elvin-shaped cake, and plenty of dancing. There were presentations for some of the teachers who have supported year 11 along the way, and following a vote Deja and Ayuub K were announced as the best dressed year 11s at the prom, with Jordan and Fanni crowned as Prom King and Queen.

A special thanks for all the hard work the prom committee and Mr Weldeyesus put in to make sure a

fitting end to a great year for year 11.

INTEGRITY  COURAGE  COMMUNITY  MASTERY And finally… a big thank you!

A lot has happened in 2014/15, and our pupils, parents, and staff have pulled together as a community and worked incredibly hard for our school. A big thank you to everyone for making this such an incredible year! Enjoy these photos of some of our highlights:

2015/16 School Day

Monday – Thursday Friday 8:00 – 8:30 8:00 – 8:30 Year 7 community time Year 7 community time 8:30 – 9:00 8:30 – 9:20 Reading Period 1 9:00 – 9:50 9:20 – 10:10 Period 1 Period 2 9:50 – 10:40 10:10 – 10:30 Period 2 Break 10:40 – 11:00 10:30 – 11:20 Break Period 3 11:00 – 11:50 11:20 – 12:10 Period 3 Period 4 11:50 – 12:40 12:10 – 1:00 Period 4 Lunch 12:40 – 1:30 1:00 – 1:50 Lunch Period 5 1:30 – 2:20 1:50 – 2:40 Period 5 Period 6 2:20 – 3:10 2:40 – 3:00 Period 6 Form time 3:10 – 3:30 Form time 3:30 onwards Enrichment

2015/16 Parents’ Evenings

Please put these dates in your diaries:

Year 7: 30th September, 21st October, 22nd June

Year 8: 21st October, 20th April

Year 9: 21st October, 2nd December

Year 10: 7th October, 10th February

Year 11: 23rd September, 13th January

Sixth Form: 11th November

INTEGRITY  COURAGE  COMMUNITY  MASTERY

2015/16 Key Dates

Summer holidays 22nd – 31st July: New year 7 summer school Thursday 13th July: A level results day 17th – 21st August: New year 11 summer school (by invitation) 20th August: GCSE results day 24th August: Year 13 work experience begins

Autumn term Tuesday 1st September: Staff training begins Thursday 3rd September: Prize giving for pupils finishing year 11, 12, 13 7th – 11th September: Year 11 work experience Wednesday 9th September: Year 7 induction begins (start of term) Thursday 10th September: Year 10, 12, 13 induction begins (start of term) Monday 14th September: Year 11 induction begins (start of term) Tuesday 15th September: Year 8, 9 induction begins (start of term) 26th – 30th October: Half term holiday Monday 2nd November: Staff training days (no school for pupils) Friday 18th December: Last day of term

Spring term Monday 4th January: Staff training day (no school for pupils) Friday 12th February: Staff training day (no school for pupils) 15th – 19th February: Half term holiday Monday 7th March: Staff training day (no school for pupils) Thursday 24th March: Last day of term

Summer Term Monday 11th April: Staff training day (no school for pupils) Tuesday 12th April: First day of term for pupils 30th May – 3rd June: Half term holiday

Friday 15th July: Last day of term for pupils 18th – 19th July: Staff training days (no school for pupils)