New Line Learning Newsletter
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02 January 2021 NEW LINE LEARNING NEWSLETTER Believe and Achieve MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER Dear Parents, It has been a while since our last newsletter, however now we have been back at school for a full term and have settled into new routines, it is the perfect time to reflect on all we have achieved and been a part of since September. It has been a challenging term, but a positive one (no pun intended) too! Pupils have thrown themselves back into school life and my colleagues have continued to endeavour to make every effort to give each student in our community a brilliant school experience. Many families have shown great generosity and resilience over recent months and a real sense of team work and team spirit has been seen right across the academy. As you can see from this edition our academy community has been extremely busy since we returned in September and much has taken place both in and outside of the classroom and I New Line Learning Newsletter 1 02 January 2021 hope you will enjoy reading about some of these activities in this newsletter. Our new Year 7 students have settled in really well and seem to be embracing the New Line Learning experience. For our new families in Year 7 if this is your first opportunity to read our newsletter then I extend a warm to you to our readership. Each term we celebrate some of the activities and events that have taken place in our school community since the previous edition was published. We have always avowed to achieve the best possible academic results for our pupils, but without being reduced to becoming an exam factory. We want the New Line Learning experience to be on that involves exceptional teaching and learning combined with exceptional experiences outside of the classroom, both in school and further afield. Lockdown was a difficult time for many families, but as you can see from some of the articles the spirit of Team New Line rose to the challenge to keep the sense of connection and school community going through these unusual times. I hope that you will enjoy this edition of newsletter and I thank you for taking the time to read it. Paul Murphy New Line Learning Newsletter 2 02 January 2021 HISTORY DEPARTMENT NEWS An update from Mr White… Currently in year 7 History we are looking at an event that changed the course of British history forever. A time when there were three contenders for one throne, invaders form different countries and the installation of a French duke on the English throne. Yes, that’s right, we are looking at the Norman conquest of England. This is an interesting topic that the year 7’s absolutely love. It’s a period of time filled with lots of blood and gore and really grabs their interest and keeps them excited. We have looked at how William became King by studying the battles of the period and will be looking at how exactly William maintained control in term 3, including all the weird and wonderful laws that were introduced as part of his master plan to control the people of England. An update from Mrs Atwell… In Endeavour history our big question this term was, “What did the Ancient Greeks do for us?” Topics included: democracy, the Olympics, Ancient Greek culture and Greek gods. We have enjoyed many practical activities from designing our own Greek vases and Greek plates. We learned about Greek theatre and drew a backdrop to a Greek play. Lastly, we’ve had fun making our own Greek comedy and tragedy masks and are ready to perform our own version of ‘The Battle of Troy.’ In year 8 by Mr Nash… In contrast to year 7, we have been studying a grim aspect of British History. This term we continued our studies of the transatlantic slave trade by examining what life was like for a slave from when they were sold at auction to what their life was like on the plantations. On a brighter note we investigated how the slave trade came to be banned in the Empire and how Britain then led the way to stop the trade across the world. New Line Learning Newsletter 3 02 January 2021 Within these studies we have looked at a range of historical characters ranging from William Wilberforce to the role of Olaudah Equiano. Our next enquiry is linked in many ways to the transatlantic slave trade as it is part of the story of the British Empire. Our enquiry this term was to discuss the origins of the empire and how it all started. We have investigated a variety of topics starting with its origins with the explorers, Cabot, Hudson, Raleigh and Drake, and the rivalry with Spain in 16th century. Our enquiry has led us to consider a number of factors that has driven the people from these islands to conqueror and control so much of our world. Our investigation has even demonstrated the role pirates like Henry Morgan had, who became governor of Jamaica. Our new enquiry is a case study of India in which we will consider who benefited from the empire. Year 9 have continued to study one of my favourite topics: The Great War. We have been investigating what it was like to be in the First World War, from recruitment to how the war ended. As part of our enquiry we have considered the horrors of the war and what it was like to fight a war dominated by developing technology. We have considered the role of the generals and how we interpret the past on the evidence presented to us. One key aspect has been what it means to be a British soldier. We have examined the vital role of the British colonies and also considered how they were treated based on their origins, be they from the West Indies or India. Our next enquiry will be on Germany after the war. Year 10 have concluded their GCSE study of Warfare through Time by examining the changes in the 20th century. Students have looked at various factors for change and continuity throughout this period. In order to highlight these changes and continuities the students studied two case studies, one from the start of the period, the Battle of the Somme, and one from the end, 2003 Iraqi War. The students found that technology over this period had a significant role in changing the nature of warfare but they also found that wars are now fought differently, with armies now fighting insurgents opposed to formal soldiers. Year 11 have continued to prepare for their GCSE examinations in June next year. They have been investigating the threats to Elizabeth’s reign from inside and outside of England. The threat inside of England came from Mary Queen of Scots and the various plots to place her on the throne of England. The external threats came mostly from Spain. We have looked at Elizabeth’s role in the Spanish Netherlands and how, along with the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, led to the attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada. The students will continue to investigate the Elizabethan World. New Line Learning Newsletter 4 02 January 2021 In preparation for the forthcoming exams year 11 students have been completing examination papers. Some student attitude and efforts have been outstanding considering the difficulties of this year. Well done to Sapphire Gaskin; Tia Makina; Jonathan Evans; Jessica Stevens and Abbi Tritton. New Line Learning School of Excellence… Students that are part of the New Line Learning School or Excellence have been engaging in a variety or creative and performance enhancing activities over the past term. All year groups have been developing a unique ongoing project looking at the impact of the pandemic on all aspects of society. Next term students will be starting to focus on Musical Theatre, which will be leading to their examination qualifications. Please follow this link below and enjoy the end of Term 2 message and performances from the School of Excellence students! https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ng5rtItfXtc #CreatePerformInspire Album Review by Jack Burkitt (year 10) Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour | Album Review by Jack Burkitt – Year 10 Kacey Musgraves is an American country artist, who found her fame with her Grammy award- winning debut album, ‘Same Trailer, Different Park’. ‘Golden Hour’ is Kacey’s third studio album, which is more emotional and personal than her past music, however it seemed to pay off, as she won several Grammy's for it, including ‘Best Country Album’ and ‘Album of the Year’. The album starts off with a beautiful guitar ballad called ‘Slow Burn’, where Kacey sings about how she is watching life slowly unfold, which Is a very important theme in her life. Halfway into the song, more instruments begin to play, including drums and backup vocals, ending with all this fading out and we are just left with her vocals, and the beautifully played strings. After this, we delve into the pop/country side to the album, with ‘Lonely Weekend’, about how she is okay with being on her own, and that she needs times like this, where she is just on her own. My favourite song from the album follows this, being New Line Learning Newsletter 5 02 January 2021 ‘Butterflies’. The reason for me liking this so much is due to the contrast of the strings and mellow drums, and the electric-sounding vocals, exciting the listener. Deeper into the album, we get a peaceful, tragic piano ballad called ‘Mother’.