Issue 18, October 2018 Welcome Welcome to the first enrichment newsletter of the new academic year! Here you can read case studies on real news, collecting oral histories, alternative provision, and even students’ experiences of water-skiing for the first time. This issue also includes funding and opportunities including the Brilliant Club, John Muir Award, and £1,000 grants for the STEM scheme First Tech Challenge. It’s that time of year… the annual OAT Christmas card competition has been launched! You can find out more in the next few pages. Our marketing team is looking forward to seeing this year’s entries. If you have any suggestions or if there is anything you would like to see in future newsletters, please contact [email protected]. The content deadline for the next issue is Friday 23 November. Thank you for all your hard work and sending in these brilliant case studies. Updates Chess Clubs Ormiston Trust, via OAT enrichment department, have funded 15 OAT academies to either establish or develop chess clubs. Schools have received up to £100 to pay for new equipment or resources, enabling academies to run their clubs, increase opportunities for OAT students to develop their chess knowledge and skills, and boost their social and emotional capabilities. A Chess Championship Coordinator has also been appointed: Karen Giller from Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy is an experienced middle leader and chess fanatic. She will be working with the enrichment department to coordinate an OAT online chess championship and explore the potential of setting up a MAT-wide chess competition. The schools who have received funding are: ▪ Ormiston Victory Academy ▪ Ormiston South Parade Academy ▪ Ormiston Rivers Academy ▪ Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy ▪ Ormiston Sudbury Academy ▪ Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy ▪ Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy ▪ George Salter Ormiston Academy ▪ Ormiston NEW Academy ▪ Cowes Enterprise College ▪ Broadland High Ormiston Academy ▪ Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy ▪ Ormiston City of Norwich School ▪ Ormiston Six Villages Academy ▪ Tenbury High Ormiston Academy 2 #iwill programme Ormiston Trust and Ormiston Academies Trust are pleased to be launching the #iwill campaign to support young people in our academies and communities to engage in meaningful youth social action. The project has the aim to improve educational outcomes for all students by engaging them in meaningful social action. #iwill project application packs and details have been made available to all academies so that you can start planning your #iwill projects. To find out more about the programme, please contact Luke Bowers [email protected], Anju Virdee [email protected] and Klara Reddy [email protected]. OAT and OT Christmas card competition The OAT and Ormiston Trust Christmas card competition has now been launched! The countdown to Christmas has begun and OAT marketing team recently sent posters about the annual OAT/OT Christmas card competition to display within your academies to encourage students to get designing and creating some fabulous entries. This year two winning designs will be chosen as the official OAT and OT Christmas cards and be sent to all those us work with across the UK and wider. All winners and runners-up will receive prizes and be given a pack of their Christmas card. Anyone who is a current student at an OAT academy is eligible to enter the competition and the deadline for entries is Tuesday 6 November 2018. Please feel free to contact the marketing team at [email protected]. 3 Academy stories Think Global: Ormiston Park Academy (secondary) As part of OPA’s drive to gain the diversity mark, the Academy was approached to participate in the Think Global programme offered by Learning Workz. Students were given the opportunity to join a team that would visit the USA and participate in a host of activities to think globally about how their part as an individual plays out in reality. Interested students paid to participate in the trip; in total three year 7 students joined. Two group sessions took place prior to departing where students met others from the partnership schools in Thurrock, planned for the trip and got to know each other. One member of staff attended the sessions as well as the trip, which was from 27 August until 2 September. On 28 September, all participants visited the Thameside Theatre to take part in a presentation to family members and key stakeholders. Students were in awe of the places they visited in the USA and the people they met. OPA has the opportunity to participate again in the future. Activities that took place included: ▪ Tours of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the United Nations building, and even inside the Pentagon itself ▪ A tour of the 9/11 Memorial Museum by survivors, along with a workshop to ask questions and listen to their stories ▪ A visit to the New York Mayor’s Office, meeting with the Deputy Commissioner to discuss how their role makes a difference to the community they serve ▪ A trip up to the Empire State building viewing platform ▪ A tour of the DC memorials, including the reflection pool, Lincoln memorial, the White House, Capitol Hill ▪ Workshops to discuss the experiences, and some free time in and around NYC and Washington DC think-global.org.uk 4 BBC Real News: Ormiston Rivers Academy (secondary) On Monday 10 September, a producer and three apprentices came to visit ORA from the BBC. They delivered a 'Real News Workshop', in which the students learned how to identify fake news and how to be sure that the news they were accessing was real. The benefits and drawbacks of social media as a news outlet were also discussed, and the students were given an opportunity to consider which news outlets could be trusted and why. Later in the day, the students were given the opportunity to hear the stories of the three BBC apprentices, and ask questions about their budding careers. Molly, Year 9, said: ‘I think it was really insightful and interesting. It made me consider becoming an apprentice.’ Miss Price, Enrichment Co-ordinator, expressed how impressed she was with the students: ‘The students who attended the session were listening intently and seemed to be really interested in the workshop, particularly when they found out they could do apprenticeships at the BBC themselves. The producer who ran the session commented on their enthusiasm.’ bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/SRRegistration | bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42242630 Water-skiing: Ormiston Victory Academy (secondary) New year 7 students from OVA took part in a water-skiing taster day at Norwich Water Ski Club, local to the school. The students signed up during their year 6 transition week – the uptake was amazing with over 40 students wanting to learn how to water-ski. The day was limited to 24 spaces so due to the amount of interest another two dates have been arranged in June and July 2019. The students paid a small fee of £15 for the day which included all their equipment, land lesson and time being coached on the water. The 24 students who took part all 5 got taught the basics of water-skiing and all did incredibly well with lots overcoming their fear of being in a lake. Mr Robinson, who drove the students to and from the lake, said: ‘I cannot believe how lucky these students are to be learning such a unique sport and it is just down the road from the Academy.’ As he climbed out of the water, one male student said: ‘That was incredible – can I have another go?’ One female student said: ‘I have never even been on a boat before and now I can water-ski – I felt like I was running on water.’ The students have not only learnt how to water-ski but for a lot of the students it really helped improve their confidence and enabled them to meet new friends within their year group. Overall it was a lovely day that enabled the new students to access a new experience and they all had an amazing time! Lowestoft Engineering Project: Ormiston Denes Academy (secondary) Nine students from Ormiston Denes Academy participated in the Lowestoft Engineering Project celebration event held at East Suffolk College. Students from the college joined with students from Lowestoft's secondary and primary schools for a truly collaborative, inter-school boat building competition. Many learned the importance of ‘boat trim’ and the function of ballast through the process and everyone had fun making and testing their designs. 6 At the end of the day, students and visitors enjoyed activities and displays of various STEM projects that were endeavoured upon and funded by the Royal Academy of Engineers and the Ogden Trust over the past 3 years. Our students did us proud with their high level of engagement, team-work and their positive, helpful attitudes throughout the day. Enrichment period at Cliff Park (secondary) CPOA prides itself on the opportunities it provides learners both in and out of the classroom, offering a weekly enrichment session to students in the lower school to experience a wide range of enrichment activities built into their curriculum. This will take place during period five on Wednesdays; students will opt in for an activity each term, meaning that they will experience three different enrichment opportunities during the year. Below are the activities we have on offer throughout the year, and we hope we inspire students to gain confidence and drive to find a passion for something new: Norwich City Football Club will be delivering football sessions on behalf of the Community Sports Foundation and our students will have the opportunity to be coached by Norwich City’s elite staff.