3rd March 2017 STANDING OUT THE MAGAZINE FOR MOUNTS BAY ACADEMY Cover: Details 23rd November 2018 PRINCIPAL’S REPORT What did you do at school today? What an amazing Project Week we have had this week! It is worth remembering that we are the only school in the area that offers our students the opportunity to participate in a range of exciting experiences that allow them to engage with their learning in “real world” scenarios that still reflect the national curriculum. Even when other schools do do it, it is the highlight of their year, whereas for us, it is so embedded in our way of doing things, that we are able to do it every semester. We even manage to fit in an Adventure Learning Week every year too! So when parents ask the parochial question around the dinner table “what did you do at school today?”, we are proud of the fact that the answer can be more than “oh... just stuff”. Project Week This newsletter is packed with stories about our focus this week on Global Goals and I have had a great time watching our students take part. I hope you will enjoy reading about their exploits. It was wonderful to see how our holistic approach to developing young people brings out the best in them, when I had the pleasure of seeing our Class of 2018 return for their awards evening on Thursday. The evening is always a fabulous celebration of achievement and recognition of success, with a little bit of humour along the way. It is also the last time we will see many of these students on campus, so it is also tinged with a little sadness for us all. Thankfully, many of our students register for our Alumni programme and it is always great to follow their progress. Welcome back to MBA Another one of our Alumni scored a success this week. Jacob Trudgeon is our Leading Edge Academies Partnership Level 3 PE Apprentice who is currently doing his work experience with one of our partners at St Hilary School. Jacob led the team to his first tournament win as a manager, winning the ESSA Boys’ 7-a-side Open. They will now progress to the county finals, which lead to the regional and then national finals. Well done! I was also pleased to see a letter from a member of the community about the anthology of work we recently produced to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Armistice at the end of World War 1. We have printed the letter in this newsletter, please take the time to read it and congratulate those that produced the work. Finally, don’t forget to set your clocks to record the edition of ‘Question Time’, that will be broadcast from the Academy on Thursday, including guests Rebecca Long-Bailey MP and poet Benjamin Zephaniah. I’m sure there will be robust debate! Best wishes Les Hall - Academy Principal MBA FUTURES ‘I Love My Job’ This week Year 7 students had their first encounter with employers to learn about the world of work in Cornwall. Employers from a range of industries met with students to talk about what their job involves. Students also learnt about how environmental issues are impacting on individual industries. Our students put various questions to our guests; one that I heard was "Do you prefer the management or construction side of your work?" Students then delivered their own presentations to fellow students on what they had learnt from each employer. Report by: Mrs Masters ‘I really enjoyed getting to speak to employers because they were really interesting and I learnt about jobs I did not realise existed in the NHS‘ “ - Alexis 7 Purple ” A big thank you to: Bluefruit Software, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Goonhilly Earth, Jackson Wealth Management, Kier Construction, NHS, Nixon Design, Oh So Social, Old Coastguard Hotel and Surfers against Sewage for inspiring our younger students. MBA FUTURES Spotlight on the Food Industry It was a privilege for our Year 8 students to learn about the impact of food, nutrition and sustainability from one of the county's leading employers, Provenance Brands, who represent companies such as: Warrens Bakery, Cornish Seasalt Company, Cornish Seaweed Company and the Great British Crisp. Students met Claire Seville, Head of PR, and Angie Shepherd, Quality Assurance Technical Manager, and found out about the measures Warrens are taking to ensure the provision of quality products, whilst maintaining environmental initiatives, such as waste food pellets being converted into energy. Students entered into a lively discussion with our guests. Is an Insect Pasty our future? Judging by our Year 8s, not for a while yet! Focus on the NHS As part of their Futures Activity, Year 9 students learnt more about the range of careers the NHS offers, ranging from Solicitor to Chef. They learnt about the demand for medical jobs with 25,000 vacancies being advertised every month. Students designed their own job adverts to showcase the incredible work the NHS does, which ranging from Physiotherapy to Biomedical Science. They were also joined by Ward Sister Tara Dobson, who shared her own experiences of working in the Treliske Cardiology Unit and her journey through her nursing career. Great work Year 9! MBA FUTURES Software Cornwall Year 10 students were introduced to possible career paths in Cornwall in the growing sector of software development. Robert Wiltshire, from Software Cornwall, talked about the exciting opportunities which will evolve in Cornwall as the space programme begins in Newquay. Already young people are taking up apprenticeships in space operations and preparing the software for the rockets. Working in the growing software industry also offers a competitive salary, over £10,000 more than Cornwall’s average per year. Students then had a chance to learn some Python programming language and develop a code to take temperature readings in the room. Report by: Ms Kennedy Post 16 Options During their ‘Futures Day’, Year 11 students attended a variety of workshops including: ‘Building a Barrack’ with Army personnel, where they used science and mathematical skills to construct a barrack, ‘Speed Dating’ with A level subject specialists from Penwith College, an apprenticeship workshop led by Cornwall College, a look at careers in the Royal Navy with Engineering Technician Aaron Martin and Vocational and IB insights from teaching staff at Duchy, Truro and Penwith College. "All the students were interested, engaged, a real joy to talk to and a credit to the school ." “ - Sarah Alexander (Programme Team Leader for ‘A’ Levels at Penwith College) Students also started their preparations for mock interviews planned for their next project week by writing a CV and a job application tailored to their career choice. We wish them well with their employment endeavours. Report by: Mrs Masters ” BE ADVENTUROUS Faraday Project Throughout the week students in Years 7 - 10 have completed a Faraday Project day. The Faraday Project gave students the chance to develop their understanding of STEM subjects whilst developing their problem solving and communication skills. During ‘Project Week’ teams were asked to design and make a prototype flood defence machine. With reports of recent flooding events in both the UK and abroad, this was a great problem solving project with a real world context. In groups of four or five, students were assigned roles and had to work effectively as a team to sketch out, develop and manufacture an idea. Teams had to work within a budget and a limited list of materials. As well as producing their prototype, students had to create a learning log that documented their day, covering their design and manufacturing processes, as well as focusing on the teamwork element of the task. During lesson four, the teams presented their learning logs and tested their prototypes in the gym. This was an opportunity for students to display their hard work and test the effectiveness of their designs. Staff were blown away with the variety of design styles and the differing effectiveness of their prototypes. After testing their flood barriers, the teams were asked to reflect on what worked and what didn't and how effective their teamwork had been. Report by: Miss Tripp ‘I loved the Faraday day because we had to be independent and think for ourselves and there was great team spirit’ “ - Daisy, 7 Purple ” BE INSPIRED Year 7 Project – Life Below Water – Global Goal 14 This week, Year 7 students were introduced to the 17 Global Goals agreed in 2015 by world leaders, in the hope of creating a better world by 2030. Year 7 students have particularly focused on Global Goal 14 - ‘Life Below Water’. They have explored ways to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. At the start of the week, students had a careers focused day, giving them the chance to interact with local employers and be informed about career opportunities in Cornwall. This provided them with an understanding of how employers are becoming more environmentally aware and the impact this has had on different industries. During their Faraday project day on Tuesday, students explored how urban dwellers could adapt to global warming. They were commissioned with the task to design and make a prototype of a simple device that will allow homeowners to remove water from their homes during periods of flooding. The Year 7 students continued to explore the Global Goals by investigating a range of political and religious groups and their beliefs. Students successfully created presentations before sharing them with their peers. They discussed how people in society may have different attitudes and opinions, but how people can respect each other’s beliefs and opinions and still work together for the common good.