theHallParkAcademy newsletter July 2018

As we approach the end of this academic year, it’s important to reflect on and celebrate the many varied achievements of all of our young people over the last twelve months. It was wonderful to recognise formally the hard work and contributions of our Year 11 students with parents at their Commendation Evening, and then to be able to celebrate together with these same students at what was a fantastic Year 11 Prom. Our Year 13 students also celebrated the end of their examination period and move towards pastures new at an equally enjoyable Prom, and we wish all of our Year 11 and Year 13 students every deserved success in their examination results in August and thank them for the outstanding contribution they have made to our school community throughout their time with us. Our Sports Celebration Evening allowed us to recognise and celebrate the sporting achievements of so many of our students over the course of this academic year, both as individuals in their chosen sporting field, and as members of our numerous sports teams. The level and variety of sporting achievements over the course of this school year has been outstanding, and we look forward to more of the same next year! The House Celebration Evenings gave us the opportunity to celebrate so much of what our young people consistently do so well through their academic work and contributions to the wider life of our school, with each House representing really well the outstanding talents of our students at their own celebration evening. Looking to the future, during this half-term we held our Year 6 Induction Day and Evening for our new Year 7 students and parents who will be joining us in September, and we look forward immensely to working with the newest members of our school and their parents in the coming years as we help each of these to fulfil their full potential as members of our school community. Thank you to all parents and staff for all of your support throughout this academic year. Have a great summer! Mr Keogh - Head of School As another year comes to a close at Hall Park, it is an opportunity to reflect on the journey made over the last 12 months. A key measure of how well a school is doing is shown in the number of parents actively selecting Hall Park as their preferred choice of school. I am pleased to report that the upcoming Year 7 numbers have exceeded our pupil admission number for the first time in recent years. We also welcome students from a wider range of feeder schools, beyond the catchment. This pattern is repeated in the sixth form with more external applicants applying for places than ever before. Obviously the true measure of how well a school is doing is the results it achieves in its examination outcomes. Students in both Year 11 and Year 13 have worked very hard again and we are confident that they will be justly rewarded with excellent results in August. Finally, I would like to say thank you and farewell to a number of staff who will be leaving us at the end of this year. Ms Carr, Mr Maddick and Mr Russell are moving to new opportunities in other schools. Ms Roe and Ms Richell are taking time out of teaching to spend time with family and exploring new ventures. Ms Berridge and Mr Doyle are moving to promoted posts and Mr Jackson is retiring from his position as Head of Faculty to move into a different role in education. On behalf of the staff at Hall Park, I wish them the very best of luck for the future. Have a great summer and see you in September. Mrs Dyce - Executive Headteacher www.hallparkacademy.org.uk www.twitter.com/hallparkacademy Year 7 Athletics Championships This was the first athletics event for the Year 7’s and it did not disappoint! We travelled to Bramcote College to take part in numerous track and fielding events and compete against 5 other Broxtowe schools. Firstly, I would like to congratulate all students for their brilliant spirit, enthusiasm, passion, dedication and extremely loud chanting! It was great to see the students support one another whether winning or losing. Alongside the beautiful weather, we also had several students who performed fantastically including: 200m: Lucy Macfarlane 3rd, Nathan Papworth 3rd. 100m: Bobby Oldham 3rd, Oscar Carroll 3rd and Rubi Miller 3rd. Discus: Ashleigh Fletcher 2nd. 300m: Theo Parker 1st. Shot Put: Hannah Birch A big thank you to our Sports Leaders Amy Rutherford and Kasey Hinchley for representing the school so well. School Rounders Year 8/9 The girls kicked off the rounders season with the first tournament of the year which was hosted by George Spencer school. Prior to the tournament the girls were keen to do well and continue to improve which resulted in us practising 2/3 times a week including lunch times! All of their additional work paid off as their fielding was brilliant and stopped many of the other schools best batters from scoring. Not to mention Kasey Hinchley and Caitlin Inskter’s determination to dob people out on fourth base even if it meant crawling, diving and dabbing! The results were extremely close on many of the games and they even managed to beat local rivals Kimberley. Year 7 Similar to the year 8/9 team, the girls were keen to improve and learn how to play rounders as none of them had ever played properly before. Both teams willingly trained 2/3 times a week and again this was evident with their impressive batting and fielding skills. Both teams had a slow start in their opening games, however were quick to impress in their following games resulting in them winning 2 out of 5 of their games. Both teams displayed excellent sportsmanship and enthusiasm for both their own teams and opponents. A special mention to Rubi Miller who got the “catch of the tournament”! Inter-House Rounders What an event! Over 50 students attended this years rounders tournaments with the biggest teams being represented by Lawrence and Collier. All teams showed outstanding sportsmanship both throughout the games and at the end, regardless of the result. This event was definitely the loudest of the year with numerous screams and cheers when their players scored or when Bobby Oldham and Emily Carrol caught teachers out! Despite all of the houses hard work and consistency there was no stopping the mighty Erewash who were unbeaten throughout the tournament. A big thank you to Ms Pegler, Mr Hassall, Mr Hoddle & Ms Paget for your support throughout. PE Student Focus - Abbie Staples Abbie is currently in Year 10 taking her GCSEs including GCSE PE. She is studying hard to achieve the top GCSE grades. Alongside her theory studies Abbie has a keen interest in football and has a natural ability within this sport. Throughout her time here at Hall Park Abbie has attended the school training sessions and helped other pupils improve their footballing skills. Alongside training at school Abbie has been attending clubs outside of school which have led to her being requested to attend trials for both Forest and Leicester Academy.

Badminton Club The GCSE badminton club continues to go from strength to strength. Students from Year 9 and Year 10 participate on a weekly basis on Friday lunch time in a competition between each other. This provides valuable experience towards their final practical grade and ensures they have a log of competitive matches. The levels of skill have increased significantly and through this additional practice time the PE department are hoping this will be reflected in their GCSE final practical grades. Sports Day Congratulations to Collier house, the 2018 sports day champions ammassing over 1000 points - an outstanding achievement! Special mentions need to go to the following students for breaking school records! Well done! Time/ Name Event Distance Lucy Yr 7 Girls 300m 54.8s Macfarlane Tyler Dudley Yr 7 Boys 400m 1m 09s Aciah Yr 8 Girls 800m 2m 55s Hamilton Kane Smith Yr 7 Boys Shot Putt 8.30m Hannah Birch Yr 7 Girls Shot Putt 7.70m Sarah Yr 9 Girls Shot Putt 7.30m Amphlett Sports Celebration Evening 2018 The sports celebration evening is a chance to showcase and recognise the excellent achievement of pupils at in Physical Education and Sports. Students were nominated for an award by the PE staff in a number of areas including; Core PE, GCSE PE, Service to Sport, Sports Ties, Key Stage 5 and Sports Personality of the Year. We would like to congratulate all students who were nominated for each award and those who won. A special thank you to our guest speaker Dave Marlow for taking time out of his busy schedule to come and host the event and to parents, for your continued support with extra-curricular events. The Core PE awards Top Achiever The pupils nominated for these awards have achieved the highest grades in their year group. These students have been role models to others in their lessons throughout the year. Year 7 winners: Kayla Walker and Callum White. Year 8 winners: Fynnlay Bardgett and Alexandra Parker. Year 9 winners: Matthew Poxon and Violet Beddoe. Year 10 winners: Dexter Fairbank and Lizzie Coupe. Year 11 winners: Jack Bamford and Mia Ufton. Sports performer The pupils nominated for these awards have completed all activities in lessons to the best of their ability, they have coached others in their class to help improve peer’s skills and many have attended extra-curricular clubs and fixtures. Once again these pupils are role models to their peers. Year 7 winners: Liam Smith and Rubi Miller. Year 8 winners: Jack Spittal and Freya Meakin. Year 9 winners: Amy Rutherford and Jenson Harrison. Year 10 winners: Ben Crompton and Ellie Barlow. Year 11 winners: Alex Clifton and Tegan Skellet. GCSE PE awards Top academic achiever These awards are for those students who have achieved the highest marks in the theory element of the GCSE PE course. This ranges from mock exams, end of unit tests, coursework and in class tests. Year 9 winners: Kate Clifford and Aiden Horspool. Year 10 winners: Hannah Lakritz and Zach Grisby. Year 11 winners: Caitlin Worthington and Sam Humphries. Top practical achiever These awards are for those students who have achieved the highest marks in the practical element of the course which is worth 40%. This evidence comes from a range of performances including performance in lessons, extra-curricular events and their own club performances. Year 9 winners: Joe Schorah and Holly Bailey. Year 10 winners: Abbie Staples and Luke Cook. Year 11 winners: Caitlin Worthington and Sam Humphries.

Key Stage 5 award This award is given to someone who has worked extremely hard in their sports studies to gain further insight into Sport and Physical Education. They have achieved a high standard on exam papers and their commitment to the course is impeccable. They have a keen interest in sport and are able to impart this knowledge onto their peers. Winner: Lucy Wade. Service to sport These awards are given to pupils who compete in a range of sports outside of school time to a high standard. These pupils are likely to have trained regularly for a number of years and given up a lot of time and energy to sport. They are role models to others in the school to show how much commitment you need to become a top class sports performer. Freddie Pitts: Football. Dexter Fairbank: Table Tennis. Chloe Pickworth: Taekwando. Bradley Fry: Freestyle Skiing. Abbie Staples: Football. Betty Lakritz: Netball. Sport Ties Sports Ties are only awarded to pupils in Year 10 or 11. The pupils who gain their sports ties must be regularly participating in extracurricular sport or showing exemplary behaviour in PE lessons. These pupils go above and beyond in the PE department to help others improve their skills. Winner: Alex Werry for his commitment to basketball and effort during PE lessons. Sports Personality of the Year This is our most prestigious award of the evening. It is awarded to our most outstanding pupil of the year who has gone above and beyond to help others improve their achievements in PE; they will have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the PE department in various ways. They are a role model to all others in the school. Winner: Hannah Crouch. Library News Word Millionaires We are thrilled to have an amazing 23 Word Millionaires so far this year:

Lily Huang Finn O’Shea James Walker Betty Lakritz Kayleigh Meinke Freya Meakin Matthew Frost Kayla Walker Ellie Rutherford Jamie Crompton Ashmini Indiran Kirsten Hart Ben Cook Toby Akers Grace Catlender Olivia Hartshorn Paige Smith Oliver Ingall Rebecca Craig Emma Milner Sammi Hind Amy Davis Zak Bramley This is an amazing achievement and really shows how much students have enjoyed their books this year. We spoke to some of our millionaires to find out how they did it and what advice they’d give to wannabe Millionaires next year! Freya Meakin, Year 8 advises to “get into a great series” while Ashmini Indiran, Year 7 suggests “finding an author you really love.” Ben Cook, Year 8 kept it simple – “JUST READ!” Lily Huang, Year 7, our highest word reader this year with over 6 million words logged had lots of advice. “I always make time to read and set myself time goals to get books completed. I even give myself treats for completing books on time! Try to actively go to the Library at breaks and lunch to get quizzes completed and talk to your friends about what you’ve read – it really helps you remember. And lastly – if you aren’t enjoying a book – just change it!” Staff Interviews Year 7 students have been having a great time interviewing more members of Hall Park staff about their reading habits in our hot seat interviews. This month, Miss Berridge, Miss Cracknell, Mr Longbottom, Mr Hassall and Miss Hale were all interviewed by our class reporters! Drama News Key Stage 3 Drama Showcase The Key Stage 3 students from Years 7-9 performed at the KS3 Drama Showcase on Wednesday 27th June, a lovely late afternoon performance featuring an array of very talented students. There were performances from Drama Club on ‘The Jabberwocky’ and several outstanding Year 7 performances of their devised bullying pieces that they created in lessons. Finally the Year 9 students performed scenes from Blood Brothers and sneak peeks of their annual performance in association with Nottingham University; this year on the very sensitive theme of Slavery. Many of the students will also be performing for the Year 6 students on Thursday 5th July. Nottingham University Slavery Drama Piece On Friday 28th September at Lakeside Arts Theatre at the , the Year 9 drama students (then Year 10 students) will be showcasing their play on the theme of Slavery. The students have been working alongside both Miss Mason and a professional director as well as staff at The University of Nottingham to create a stunning 30 minute piece of drama. I can tell you already that it is of an extremely high quality and well worth reserving your ticket which you will be able to book directly from Lakeside Arts Theatre. In the meantime planning is also underway for next years DH Lawrence Festival in September 2019 too! Music EastwoodStock What a great concert and so nice to have so many people there to watch. We had a real range of acts too from soloists through to bands, choir and duets. Also the range of ages; it was so nice to see so many taking part spanning the whole of the school from Year 7 to 13. A big congratulations to all who took part it was a great success and well received by all who came to watch. Many thanks also go to those pupils who were not front of stage as we had some great volunteers who helped set up, sell tickets and even work the sound desk during the performance. Exam Success A massive well done to one of our Year 13 pupils Alice Foster who this term has passed her Grade 8 Keyboard with distinction getting the highest classification possible. Also well done to some of our GCSE pupils who again picked up top marks in Coursework for performing and composing. Mosque Visit Year 8 visited the Jamia Mosque in Derby on Monday 21 May. In Religious Studies lessons we have been learning about what it is like to be a Muslim in the UK, and so this was an opportunity to see the Mosque for ourselves. We sat at the Qibla wall to hear a talk about the relationship between Islam and Christianity. After a tour of the prayer halls we saw where the Wudu ritual is performed. Afterwards we went to the Open Centre for workshops about marriage in Islam and the Hajj pilgrimage. Tough Teacher!! On the 19th May Miss Savoye took part in the Midlands Tough Mudder raising £300 for JDRF (a diabetic research organisation) After almost 4 hours spent wading through 11 miles of mud and climbing/ crawling through obstacles with names like Killer Gorilla, Arctic Enema, Everest and Hero Walls, Miss Savoye made it to the finish line with a smile on her face and many bruises to wear with pride.

Trust Ski Trip We headed off with many excited students to Aprica (located near Bormio in Italy) on coaches, along with and Carlton Academy students. After a long journey students enrolled in lessons with beginner, intermediate and advanced groups being formed. Throughout the week all skiers improved immensely in between many falls on the slopes! Evening entertainment included a quiz and a karaoke night and the awarding of ‘funniest moments of the day’ awards. The journey back was much quicker which was mostly spent with students asleep after a week of demanding time on the slopes. The experience delivers every time as an enjoyable, demanding and fun trip and this one was no different. There are still some places left for the 2020 trip, please contact Mr Reed if you are interested in this event. There will be a further information evening on the 2020 Skiing trip in September. Castleton Trip 100 Year 7 students flocked to the tourist village of Castleton on Tuesday 3rd July. After a successful day exploring the impacts of tourism in the village and improving their geographical fieldwork skills, pupils then took part in an underground boat tour examining the history of mining in the area. Our pupils had a great day and were a credit to the Geography department and the school. Art News The alTURNERtive prize. The winner of this year’s alTURNERtive prize has been awarded to Jie Li Huang in Year 7. Second place was awarded to Libby-Mae Faulconbridge in Year 7 and third prize was awarded to Morgan Fearn in Year 7. Well done to everyone who entered the competition.

Art exhibition The Art Exhibition showcased the fantastic work of GCSE and ‘A’ level students and received glowing reviews from parents, students and staff who visited the private viewing on Wednesday 4th July. Well done to all the GCSE and ‘A’ level art students who have worked extremely hard. The exhibition will be on display until the end of term for those of you that couldn’t make it.

Year 7 Home Learning Art Project Pupils in Year 7 have been working really hard on their art project for the past 8 weeks. Pupils have worked exceptionally well, showing independence to research, plan and create a room in the style of their chosen artist. I am extremely pleased with effort and the creativity skills that our young artists have demonstrated.

A range of artwork is regularly celebrated on our Twitter account @HPAstudio16 Popup Uniform Shop Our uniform providers, Just Schoolwear will be at Hall Park Academy over the Summer with their annual ‘pop up’ shop. They will be in school on Wednesday 8th August from 10.30am – 1.30pm. Year 11 Prom Staff and Year 11 students recognised the end of Year 11 and of GCSE exams by celebrating at the Belfry Hotel on Friday 29th June. A great time was had by all with a formal meal which was followed by a lively night of dancing. Over 30 staff attended which showed how highly the Year 11 students are thought of.

Year 6 Induction Day Year 6 students who are due to come up to Hall Park in September came to experience a full school day. Teachers picked up Year 6 students from the hall and took them to classrooms to deliver a number of different lessons which students fed back as being fun, enjoyable and challenging. Staff were impressed with the enthusiasm, application and work produced by the Year 6 students and we look forward to seeing them again in September. Parents and staff came back to school late in the evening to meet their tutors and gain more insight into their tutor group and the school life that awaits them in September. House News Astle House Our House Celebration Evening was an opportunity to recognise the ambition, learning and hard work of our students in Astle House. Winning the House Trophy for Attendance was brilliant. I felt so proud, as I joined parents, Senior Leaders and our committed team of Tutors in applauding the successes of our enthusiastic and ambitious students. Astle House have certainly aimed high. Another special moment was the Year 11 Prom. Two Astle students became Prom Royalty: Sam Humphries was voted Prom King and Paris Lopinto as Prom Princess. After a long awaited evening of fun we now look forward with confidence to their GCSE results Day in August. After intense revision and hard work in their exams, our Year 10’s approached the excitement of Work Experience Week. The varied placements included: Leisure and Garden centres; Riding school; construction company; Primary schools and Nurseries. Following interviews, our new House Leadership Team for 2018/19 were appointed. House Captain is Imogen Tomlinson. Vice House Captains are Holly Calow and Sophie Sale. Performing Arts Captain is Libby Shaw. Charity Ambassadors are Maya Bradley and Jess Skevington. Sports Captain is Freddie Pitts. Freddie is the Captain of Moor Green Colts Football Team and is in the Sheffield Wednesday Academy. After success with his service to Sports Award this year, at his interview, Freddie said “I want to help the new Year 7’s and other students in our House to participate and enjoy sports, I want to be a role model and help others to achieve.” With Freddie leading in Sports, together with the new Leadership Team, we look forward to wider participation and future success in Inter-House Events in the 2018/19 academic Year. This year in Sports, Astle came second in the Inter-House Rounders. It was great to see students rise to the challenge when numbers in the Team looked low. Borrowing PE kit and encouraging each other to take part, led to a great turn-out and the resulting Team work was impressive. Hannah Birch went on to compete against 11 others in the Shot Put event at the Broxtowe Athletic Championships, winning first place. Hannah, a newcomer to this field event, achieved an incredible throw with a distance of over 7 metres. The success continues. After returning from dancing in the ‘Strictly’ Ballroom in Blackpool, Lois Bonser, updated us “Last weekend, I attended The World championship of Freestyle Dance! It was really fun and a great experience, I came in 5th place. The atmosphere was amazing along with some amazing dancers. I loved it!!! “ What a year! Thank you to everyone in Astle. We are looking forward to future successes: working together as a House Team. Mrs Paget - Head of Astle House. Collier House I have been really proud and privileged to be the Head of Collier House since my arrival at Hall Park Academy in January. In that time we have seen the weather swing from freezing (resulting in duvet days due to snow) to roasting hot (staff and students alike wilting in the heat). However, during all of this the school has continued to function and the students have continued to excel themselves, both academically and otherwise within school. Both students and parents attended the Celebration Evening where these achievements, of hard work and commitment, were celebrated. Exams are finally over for everyone and we eagerly await the results for both Year 11 and 13 in August - I am sure they will do both themselves and us proud! Year 10 have also finished their end of year exams and have clear targets in preparation for next year. We also welcome a new student leadership team to Collier house for the academic year 2018-2019. House Captains - Dexter Fairbank and Libby Reddish, Deputy House Captain - Gabriel Galadyk Sports Captains - Joshua Berry and Amy Rutherford, Performing Arts Captain - Rachel Burdett. I look forward to working with this new and enthusiastic team. Mrs Pegler - Head of Collier House Erewash House Sometimes it is important to pause and reflect back on what you have achieved. At the end of another school year, our House Celebration Evening allowed us the opportunity to do just that. We have had a lot to celebrate this year too! (We are also looking forward to celebrating in August with our Year 11’s, when they open their examination results.) As a House we have managed to raise £150 for our nominated House Charity (Broxtowe Homeless Project). I would like to thank our Charity Ambassadors for encouraging everyone to participate and donate this year. Erewash House has had continued success on the Sports Field too. The “Ribbons Remained Red” on a number of trophies including the Inter- House Football, Rounders and Cricket! Well done guys! The Year 10 students also did our House proud during their week long Work Experience placements. It is often said that “You get out of life what you put into it.” I know how nervous some of you were, yet you all threw yourselves into the task. (I want to give a special mention to Leon Clark who spent a week with the Army. We will all sleep safer in our beds, knowing Leon is watching out for us!) Have a great rest over the summer. Stay safe. We look forward to our new Year 7’s joining us in September, for what I am sure will be another great school year! Mr Spriggs - Head of Erewash House Lawrence House As we come towards the end of the academic year the celebrations begin. The Lawrence House Celebration Evening was 2nd on the calendar this year and we certainly had a lot of certificates to give out. Students from Years 7-9 sat in their masses to receive awards for excellent work across all subject areas with some being commended for their efforts in promoting House events. With the weather being almost Mediterranean in the last few weeks it was good to head to the rounders field to take part in most youngsters favourite sport. 20+ Lawrence students took part and earned a brilliant victory against Collier with Charlie Bone scoring the winning rounder to earn second place overall in the tournament. Credit going to Miss Farmery and Mr Hoddle for organizing and running (and taking part in) the event. Work experience for year 10’s was a great success with students getting a taste of what it is like in the working world. They represented the school well and completed interesting tasks at places such as Toni and Guy, PELLS Chartered Accountants and The Salvation Army. There were many great visits from your teachers who were very proud to see how well they were working with new people. Well done. The school year presents many challenges and the Lawrence House Students have tackled them all with great excitement. Enjoy your summer break guys! Mr Hassall - Head of Lawrence House Sixth Form News Year 13 examinations have now come to an end. We are very proud of the students for the thorough revision and preparation they put in and the excellent way they conducted themselves throughout. Results are due on Thursday 17th August at 9.00am. We have started our guidance and support of students applying to university this term. We visited Nottingham Trent University in June where students toured the campus and had chances to ask existing university students about university life, finance and studying. This was followed up with sessions in school on using the UCAS site and personal statements. Students also have access to Unifrog, a fantastic careers software platform that helps students with research and applications to university and apprenticeships. Year 13 celebrated the completion of their seven years at Hall Park and the end of their time in the Sixth Form with a lovely meal and dancing at the Belfry Hotel on Friday 22nd June. Mr Caldwell spoke of the achievements of the year group and managed to squeeze a couple of light-hearted memories of particular students into his speech! Year 11 joined us on 10th and 11th July for Post 16 Induction with the first day spent in A Level lessons and doing MOOCS and using the Oxplore website. Day Two involved team building and problem solving activities with the Royal Navy and enterprise activities with Nicola Davis, our DANCOP Mentor. We are looking forward to having over 50 of the Year 11s in the Sixth Form this September, including several external students. Year 10 students also joined us for their Post 16 Taster Day on 6th July. They experienced A Level lessons before they headed off to work experience.